Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the level of blood donations by blood type.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England. Since the amber alert for O group blood was lifted in July 2025, overall collections have remained strong, reaching 98% of the collection target, with an average of 119,500 units per month of blood collected, compared to 116,700 per month in the six months prior.

NHSBT still faces challenges in maintaining stocks of B-, O-, and Ro blood groups. NHSBT currently meets approximately 50% of the demand for Ro type blood, with the remaining demand met by safely substituting, typically with B- and O-. This places further pressure on stocks for these groups.

NHSBT has recently opened new donor centres and expanded the number of donation appointments available to grow its Ro, B-, and O- donor base and increase collections for these blood groups. Up-to-date blood stock statuses are available on NHSBT’s website at the following link:

https://hospital.blood.co.uk/business-continuity/blood-stocks