Boots has partnered with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) to provide free blood type testing and increase donations for the “most-needed blood types”.
NHSBT said yesterday that the pilot scheme will see two Boots pharmacies in south London – on Brixton Road and Walworth Road – and two in Birmingham – at The Bull Ring Shopping Centre and on Birmingham High Street – offer up to 25,000 free self-testing blood type kits to the public.
It added that the tests take five minutes and show a person’s “likely” blood type using a small drop of blood and a litmus-style test card.
Read more: Boots reports 20% yearly increase across flu jab bookings
Blood types can only be confirmed in a lab and anyone donating blood will have this confirmed after their first donation.
NHSBT said the NHS needs more O negative and B negative donors, as well as more donors of Black heritage “who are vital to helping treat patients with sickle cell”.
It hopes that people finding out their blood type will encourage them to register as a donor, with NHS research finding that “less than half of people know their blood type”.
Read more: Boots spikes home delivery of weight loss jabs amid heatwave
Boots told C+D that south London and Birmingham have been selected as priority areas for blood donation, and that the participating pharmacies are close to Birmingham and Brixton’s donor centres.
Boots life sciences and clinical trials director Heather Elliott said the multiple is “excited to help more people understand the important role that blood donors play”.
“We hope this will make a real difference by increasing the number of people who come forward to donate blood and help the NHS continue to save lives,” she said.
“Urgent need”
NHSBT said O negative blood is needed for patients in emergencies and when their blood type is not known, with the blood accounting for “16% of hospital orders but only 8% of existing donors have this type”.
And while B negative is a much rarer blood type shared by “only 2% percent of current donors”, NHSBT said there is an “urgent need” for more regular donors of B negative blood.
Both are often given to sickle cell patients when there is “not enough blood with the Ro subtype”.
Read more: Boots launches gonorrhoea jab as 90% say ‘We don’t check for STIs’
NHSBT said “up to 200,000 new donors” are needed each year to replace those who stop donating, and “5,000 blood donations” are needed every day in England to meet the demand from hospitals.
NHSBT partnerships assistant director Altaf Kazi said this is an “exciting opportunity” for those in south London and Birmingham and the test could “start your journey as a lifesaver”.
“While all donations are vital, you may discover you have one of the most in demand blood types right now,” he added.
Read more: Boots launches GLP-1 ‘support zones’ in over 220 stores
It comes after Boots last month reported a 20% increase year on year across its flu jab bookings.
And it follows the multiple launching a private gonorrhoea vaccination service in 160 stores.
