Oak House
Reeds Crescent
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Watford
WD24 4QN
Tel: 01923 366 7650
Our ref: MOC/ 332729
www.nhsbt.nhs.uk
Dear Casey Bond
Re: Information request
Thank you for your request dated 5th October 2017 for information from NHS Blood
and Transplant (NHSBT) regarding blood donation.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is a Special Health Authority. Its remit includes
the provision of a reliable, efficient supply of blood and associated services to the
NHS in England. It is also the organ donor organisation for the whole of the UK and
is responsible for matching and allocating donated organs.
I am writing to advise you that we are able to provide you with the following
information in response to your request.
For the last year (October 2016 to September 2017) can you please supply
figures of the number of blood units donated in the UK? Do you also have
information on the number of blood units that that were required - i.e. was
there a shortfall in blood supply?
Would it be possible to break the information down into months to identify if a
particular month had a shortfall?
Are there any areas in the UK that have suffered a shortfall of blood supplies in
the last year?
Blood is a precious gift from our donors which should not be wasted, so it is
important we only collect the blood that patients need when they need it. Our
donation programme is carefully planned and regularly reviewed to ensure that we
are always able to meet hospital demand and that the blood supply is effectively
matched to patient need.
You will find attached to this letter a spreadsheet containing the information you
require with regards to England. For this particular information request you will also
need to contact the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish blood services direct.
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988. You are free to use it for your own purposes, including any
non-commercial research you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any
other re-use, for example commercial publication, would require the permission of the
copyright holder. Some documents supplied by NHS Blood and Transplant will be
Crown Copyright. You can find details on the arrangements for re-using Crown
Copyright on HMS Online at:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-
information/copyright/crown-copyright/
Information you receive which is not subject to Crown Copyright continues to be
protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information
originated. You must ensure that you gain their permission before reproducing any
third party (non Crown Copyright) information.
I hope this is helpful in addressing your questions. Please quote the reference
number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely
Wayne Lawley
Head of Corporate Communications
E-mail: xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or
request an review of our decision, you should write to: Customer Services Operations Manager, NHS Blood and
Transplant, Oak House, Reeds Crescent, Watford, WD24 4QN (Email: xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx).
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information
Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the
complaints procedure provided by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). The Information Commissioner can be
contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9
5AF.