TEN thousand new blood donors are needed in Yorkshire over the next three months.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is appealing for recruits to come forward as vital new donors.
The service is seeking 100,000 volunteers nationally and looking for just over 10% of them to come from Yorkshire. They have enlisted the help of Hollyoaks stars and designer Wayne Hemingway MBE in their campaign.
Young people are very important to the blood service, with 17 to 24-year-olds accounting for around 40% of new donors each year.
However, the number of young donors registering has steadily fallen over the last 10 years. This year has seen a particularly sharp decline, with a 50% drop in the number of 17 to 18-year-olds registering, compared with 2011.
The NHSBT’s Jon Latham said: “We welcome new donors of any age, but a failure to boost the number of young donors now will put a strain on the blood service in the years to come.”
To find out if you are eligible to become a blood donor and make a date to donate, visit www.blood.co.uk or call 0300 1232323.
