Southampton’s new blood donor centre welcomes donors

NHS Blood and Transplant has opened a new donor centre in Southampton offering a modern and convenient space for people to give blood

The new centre in Chandler’s Ford replaces the former site near Southampton General Hospital. It has space for nine donor chairs with the option to expand to twelve. This would allow for a thirty three percent increase in capacity

Mike Doswell, NHSBT Area Manager for the Solent said, “We have created ourselves an opportunity here where essentially we can collect even more than we used to. We believe it is very convenient to get to because it is essentially at the bottom of the M3 and M27 junction. We want relaxed donors who are not stressed and are happy to be here”

The new facility is expected to collect around two hundred and seventy to two hundred and eighty whole blood donations each week which is around twelve and a half thousand units per year

Mr Doswell explained why regular donations are vital “We need a constant supply of blood. We cannot stockpile blood at least not for very long. Typically red whole blood is used within a week or so of being donated. Across England we need about five thousand donations per day”

There is a particular need for more donors with certain blood types especially O negative, A negative, and B negative. Mr Doswell said “O negative is the universal donor. In England eight percent of donors are O negative but typically fifteen percent of our usage is O negative. So essentially we are using twice as much as we can bring in”

The new centre is also helping raise awareness of the need for more Black African and Black Caribbean donors to support patients with sickle cell anaemia. Mr Doswell said “If you are a donor of Black African or Black Caribbean descent you are five times more likely to have that component in your blood that helps sickle cell patients. If we can encourage more donors it would be easier to supply the right amount of blood to treat those patients”

Anyone aged between seventeen and sixty six can register as a new donor and existing donors can continue past seventy as long as they meet the eligibility criteria. There are some health conditions that may prevent people from donating but many temporary exclusions can be managed through lifestyle changes or after completing a course of medication

Encouraging new donors to come forward Mr Doswell said, “We always need to have new donors join the register to replace those who cannot or will not donate into the future. The feedback we have had so far from donors at the new centre has been excellent. It is a great space and you will have a good time”