Changes are being made to the Island’s Blood Donor Service that will see some regular donors contacted less often in the future.

The Isle of Man now has an abundance of donors who have blood of group A-positive and group B-positive.  It means there is often ample supply of these types of blood on the Island at any given time.  With modern surgical techniques – such as keyhole surgery and blood recovery – the need for a blood transfusion is increasingly less common when someone has an operation, lowering the demand for blood stocks.

Steve Doyle, Pathology Manager at Noble’s Hospital, said: “It is a remarkable achievement for a blood donation service to say it needs fewer donations.  I think it speaks volumes of the community spirit and altruism of the Isle of Man, as we are certainly bucking the trend seen in the UK where there can often be shortages.”

“We are grateful to everyone who donates.  Some blood types are rarer than others, such as those in group O-negative that we often have to buy from the UK at considerable expense, so we want to be clear that we do still need new donors to come forward.  In future however we will more closely match donation sessions and the people we approach to the demand for different blood types on the Island.  Collecting blood is time consuming and expensive, plus we can only keep donations for 35 days before they expire.”

In future, new donors are likely to have a small sample of blood taken to determine their blood type, so that the Blood Donor Service can contact individuals when their specific type is needed.  However, it is stressed that when anyone is called to a donor session, it means their blood type is definitely needed and the Department would ask that they always attend.