Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has discussions with NHS Blood and Transplant on the potential merits of including Latin American as a monitored ethnicity at the Brixton donation centre.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood donation in England. NHSBT does not plan to add 'Latin American' to blood donation forms at this time. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) includes a list of ethnic groups that should be used when defining an individual’s background, and the term Latin America(n) is not used. Further information on the list of ethnic groups that should be used when defining an individual’s background is available at the following link:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/classificationsandstandards/measuringequality/ethnicgroupnationalidentityandreligion

The heritage of a donor from the Latin American region can be described within mixed white, black, and other groupings. The NHS Digital site also refers to the ONS definitions, and is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-sets/mental-health-services-data-set/submit-data/data-quality-of-protected-characteristics-and-other-vulnerable-groups/ethnicity

NHSBT uses several initiatives to increase blood donations and in turn improve blood stocks, and this includes marketing and communications campaigns. All activity is planned using data and insights about diverse audiences, including those from ethnic minorities. Central to all decision making is the ability to reach and connect with people from ethnic minority backgrounds. NHSBT consults with a specialist media agency to ensure they are using culturally appropriate and audience specific channels to reach mixed heritage and ethnic minority populations.