Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the enhanced pre-donation testing process pilot on reducing the number of deferrals for low haemoglobin levels.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood donation in England. NHSBT tests donors’ haemoglobin (Hb) to ensure they are at sufficient levels to safely donate.

NHSBT rolled out a second line of Hb testing, venous HemoCue, between April and September 2025. This is undertaken if the first line finger prick and blood drop test using copper sulphate is failed. This is a more accurate test that is not subject to environmental effects, like the weather, or operator error. If passed, a donor can donate. If failed, a donor is deferred to ensure they can replenish low iron stores to allow their Hb to improve back to safe donation thresholds.

Since roll out, low Hb deferrals fell from more than 12% to 4.1% in the six weeks prior to full roll out, up to January 2026, and levels have remained stable since, resulting in improved collections. Low Hb deferrals are higher in Black Heritage donors and have fallen from more than 24% to 15.3% for the same period. The reasons for the difference between donor groups are not fully understood but are likely to be multifactorial; NHSBT continues to assess the factors that may contribute to the differences.