Boots UK is this year supporting the Missing Type campaign for new blood donors.  For the first time, Boots will remove the Os from its iconic logo – one of the letters of blood groups - to draw attention to the importance of blood donors. To celebrate the National Health Blood and Transfusion service’s campaign, Boots’ 60,000 colleagues across the UK are encouraged and supported to sign up to the donor register, demonstrating its aim to help the nation be happy and healthy.  

There are eight main blood groups – A positive, A negative, B positive, B negative, AB positive, AB negative, O positive and O negative. O negative is the universal blood type which means O negative red cells can be used to treat patients of all blood groups.

This year’s Missing Type campaign – first held by NHS Blood and Transplant in 2015 - brings together 25 blood services from 21 countries to call for new donors to ensure blood donation for future generations.

Throughout the campaign As, Bs and Os are disappearing in everyday and iconic locations around the world including America, Australia, Japan and Ireland. Patients from around the world have thanked blood donors in a moving video and famous names in participating nations are backing the campaign.

In England, there is a particular need for more young blood donors and more black and Asian donors, and more donors with O negative and A negative blood.

Marc Donovan, Chief Pharmacist at Boots UK comments;  “We’re really delighted to support this year’s Missing Type campaign and we hope that our colleagues and customers will join us and help ‘fill in the gaps’ by registering as new donors. Every donation helps and could save up to three people’s lives.

“It is in fact our policy that if colleagues want to give blood but cannot find time outside of their working hours, we support them to attend their appointment during working hours.

“Also our customers can opt in to the Organ Donation scheme via their Boots Advantage Card; already a fantastic 2.09 million customers have signed up with their Boots Advantage Card. 

“At Boots UK we have supported the campaign through a series of internal events which demonstrate how quick and easy it is for employees to register and give blood. In addition, we are encouraging our customers to follow suit and sign up to #MissingType via our social media channels and Boots Advantage Card.”

Mike Stredder, Director of Blood Donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, the service that collects tests and processes blood for hospitals across England, comments: “Blood donation is an amazing gift and we are really grateful to Boots UK for their support.

“Thanks to the generosity of our current donors, hospitals have the blood needed to treat patients and there is not a crisis in blood stocks. Despite overall blood use in hospitals declining, we need more people to start giving blood to replace those who can no longer donate and to ensure we have the right mix of blood groups to match patient needs in the future.

“We need more young donors to help ensure the future of blood donation. We also particularly need more donors from Black African, Black Caribbean, mixed race, Arab and South Asian heritage to become blood donors to reflect the ethnic diversity of patients.

“Don’t worry if you’ve never given blood before and don’t know what blood group you are – you find out shortly after your first donation. What’s important is that you register as a donor and book your first appointment to donate.”

•          To sign up as a new donor, visit: www.blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.
•          Support the campaign on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram #MissingType.

 

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•          For additional information or high res images please contact Claire Stuart at Boots UK on 0115 959 5995 claire.stuart@boots.co.uk.
•          For additional information on blood donation and the Missing Type campaign contact the NHS Blood and Transplant press office on 01923 367600 or via pressoffice@nhsbt.nhs.uk
•          For out of hours enquiries please call 0117 969 2444

 

Notes to editors

O Negative is particularly vital in emergency situations where there might not be enough time for a blood group test.  44% of people who donated blood in the last year across the UK have the O blood group making it the most common type.  But only 14% are O negative.

1.89 million units of blood were provided to hospitals across the UK thanks to around 1.1 million donors giving blood through one of the UK’s blood services (NHS Blood and Transplant, the Welsh Blood Service, Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service) last year – around 184,000 gave blood for the first time.

NHS Blood and Transplant is responsible for ensuring a safe and efficient supply of blood and associated services to the NHS in England. We are also the organ donation organisation for the UK and are responsible for matching and allocating donated organs.  www.blood.co.uk       

The Welsh Blood Service is responsible for collecting, processing and distributing blood products to 19 customer hospitals in Wales. The Service is proud to support the Welsh NHS. To continue to supply lifesaving and life enhancing blood products to patients throughout Wales, the service is 100% reliant on the kindness and generosity of their donors.

Visit https://www.welsh-blood.org.uk/ or call 0800 252266.

In total there are eight different blood groups of which The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service aims to maintain a 5 to 7 day supply at all times. 

We are asking the people of Scotland to register as a blood donor. Visit www.scotblood.co.uk call 0345 90 90 999, @givebloodscot www.facebook.com/givebloodforscotland

The Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service has the responsibility for the collection of over 55,000 donations each year. With almost 800 donation sessions held at 240 locations spread throughout the province.

Boots UK customers can sign up to the Organ Donor register and their Advantage card will identify them a being a donor. 

visit www.nibts.org, text BLOOD to 60081 or call 0500 534 666.

 

About Boots UK 

Boots UK (boots.com), the UK’s leading pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer, is part of the Retail Pharmacy International Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise.  With 2,510* stores in the UK, Boots UK is committed to providing exceptional customer and patient care, be the first choice for pharmacy and healthcare and offer innovative 'only at Boots' exclusive products such as the UK’s leading skincare brand No7, all delivered with the great value customers love. Created over 165 years ago, the Boots brand is still at the heart of the communities it serves.

*As at 31 August 2015 excluding equity method investments