Coronavirus: Blood donors urged to continue doing it to help Leicestershire hospitals

Blood donors have been urged to continue doing so during the coronavirus pandemic - an NHS staff member cleans the donation area to prevent any spread of the bug EMN-200304-091625001

The NHS Blood and Transplant service said it had put extra safety measures to limit the spread of the Covid-19 bug.

A spokesperson said: “Donations have dropped though our stock levels are currently still good because hospitals are cancelling routine operations.

“We need Leicestershire people to keep donating to make sure we can keep supplying the blood hospitals need in the coming weeks and months.

“Patients and doctors are relying on us to be there.”

The service says it is regularly reviewing the situation and working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care, Public Health England and the UK’s other blood donation services.

There is no evidence of any type of coronavirus being transmitted through blood donation.

The spokesperson added: “We need people in Leicestershire who are fit and healthy to keep donating as normal during the coronavirus outbreak.

“We’ve put extra safety measures in place and safety is always our number one priority.

“We’re now doing extra cleaning and this week we’ve started triaging everyone who arrives so only people with no risk factors can enter the donation area.

“A lot of people have called us asking if sessions are still going ahead.

“We need them to know that our sessions and donor centres are still open and that travel to a blood donation session is essential for the NHS.”

To make an appointment to donate blood or for more information, visit www.blood.co.uk , call 0300 123 23 23 or download the NHS Give Blood app.