Push for more men in Sheffield to start donating blood

Blood donation session at Redbridge Town Hall, Ilford. Blood donor Sumit Kumar and donor carer Kat Zara

Nationally, only 43% of donors are now men. Sheffield has performed against national trends; during 2019, the gender split was almost equal. 931 women started to donate at Sheffield Donor Centre, and 916 men.

The national trend is a concern because men have higher iron levels, and only men’s blood can be used for some transfusions and products. Without more men starting to give blood, blood stocks will come under increasing pressure in future years.

Throughout January, NHS Blood and Transplant is running a national campaign about ordinary men becoming extraordinary by donating blood, and Sheffield is one of the target areas for new male donors. NHSBT is aiming for 48% of all new donors in Sheffield to be male during 2020.

Mike Stredder, the head of donor recruitment for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “All our donors are amazing. But we need more men to start donating blood in Sheffield during the New Year. Men’s blood can be used in extraordinary, lifesaving ways, but we don’t have enough new male donors coming forward. This is not about recruiting as many donors as possible – it’s about getting the right gender mix.

“If you can’t find an appointment right away don’t worry – your blood will do extraordinary things if you donate in a few weeks instead.”

Men are valuable donors as they have higher iron levels. Each time they try and donate, they’re less likely to be deferred for low haemoglobin levels. That helps maintain a strong donorbase, which is particularly crucial for people who need hundreds of even thousands of transfusions over their lifetime.

Secondly, women can produce antibodies during pregnancy, even during short pregnancies they don’t even know about. Antibodies are part of the body’s defence system and they make transfusions more difficult. This means men’s blood is only used for some specialist transfusions and blood products. Only men’s blood is used for complete blood transfusions in newborn babies, and also for plasma, which is used for people who’ve had massive blood loss.