Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of NHS blood donation appointments cancelled due to (a) low iron levels, (b) low haemoglobin and (c) travel to and from other countries.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood donation in England. NHSBT tests for haemoglobin levels rather than iron levels ahead of blood donation.Data for deferrals is currently held for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. In this period, 169,419 donations were deferred due to low haemoglobin levels, and 6,165 donations were deferred due to the donor’s recent travel to other countries where there is a risk of transmitting specific diseases to recipients via the blood donated.

Information for donors on eligibility to donate, including on haemoglobin levels and donation after travel, is available at the following link:

www.blood.co.uk