NHS urges under 35s in Manchester to ‘become lifesavers

The NHS is appealing to young people under the age of 35 in Manchester to give blood. The latest call comes as new figures show that over half of donors in the region are over the age of 45.

According to NHS Blood and Transplant, the number of young people giving blood has shrunk with only half as many 17-24-year-olds in England giving blood now compared with five years ago. Over-45s make up 51 per cent of regular donors in the North West.

Nationally, older people also account for 51 per cent of the donor population, having overtaken 17-44-year-olds this year for the first time since 2018. As part of its Giving Types campaign, the NHS is calling on 17 to 35-year-olds to make a ‘no sweat, feel good’ start to the year by giving blood.

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The healthcare system says donating blood is not something that disrupts younger people’s routine and “will easily slot into their lives alongside even the most committed exercise regime.”

The campaign particularly aims to recruit more donors of Black heritage as they are more likely to have the blood type urgently needed to treat people with sickle cell, the fastest growing genetic blood disorder in the UK.

Leanne Johnson, a 34-year-old marketing manager, began donating two years ago and says she wishes she had started when she was younger.

She has donated at Norfolk House Donor Centre in the city centre and at mobile sessions in community venues near to where she lives in Stockport.

Leanne said: “I had a couple of friends who were blood donors and it sounded like an easy way to help people.

“The process itself is really easy and doesn’t hurt. And if you don’t like the sight of blood, it’s very easy not to look! You can