NHS alert over shortage of type-O blood following hospital cyberattack

Health leaders have launched an urgent blood drive across the country to help major hospitals at the centre of a cyberattack.

Russian cybercriminals are behind the ransomware attack which has seriously affected several London hospitals including King’s, the Royal Brompton, Guys’, St Thomas’ and Evelina Children’s Hospital.

It comes as The Independent revealed on Saturday that NHS leaders had raised internal concerns over the national shortage in type-O blood stocks, as the ability for hospitals to quickly cross-check patients’ blood type for transfusion has been limited.

People with type-O blood are “universal” donors and can be matched with any blood type.

The Independent also revealed:

• More than 200 emergency and life-saving operations, including those which should be done within 24 hours, had to be cancelled by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust (GSTT) and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

• More than a third of procedures and operations have been cancelled, which includes over 3,000 non-surgical appointments and hundreds of patients who have been referred for urgent cancer diagnosis

• Mothers waiting to have C-sections have also had their procedures cancelled and hospitals are investigating potential harm

• Transplant operations have been cancelled and hospitals have had to reduce the number of people they are able to book in

Have you had an appointment or operation cancelled due to this issue? email rebecca.thomas@independent.co.uk

In an alert on Monday, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), the body responsible for blood donation in the UK, said more units of type-O blood than usual will be required “over the coming weeks” to keep services running safely for local patients.

Both O-positive and O-negative blood donors are being urged to book appointments in one of the 25 NHS blood donor centres in England to boost stocks.

There are around 13,000 blood donation appointments available across England this week in NHS blood donor centres, with 3,400 available in London.

Dr Gail Miflin, chief medical officer at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “To support London hospitals to carry out more surgeries and to provide the best care we can for all patients, we need more O-negative and O-positive donors than usual.

“We have availability for donors who know they are type O but we also welcome new donors who don’t yet know their blood type.”

She also told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that without usual IT systems in place to match blood types it is “slower and more manual”, adding: “Therefore it would be easier and safer to give blood that we know that will be a suitable blood, and that’s why we go for group O.

“O-negative blood is seen in about 8 per cent of the population and can be given to almost anyone, and O positive is seen in 35 per cent of the population and can be given to three-quarters of the population. We know these blood groups can help us respond to the incidents in London.”

Professor Stephen Powis, medical director for NHS England, said: “Unfortunately, we know that a number of operations and appointments have been postponed or diverted to other neighbouring hospitals not impacted by the cyberattack, as we prioritise pathology services for the most clinically urgent cases.

“To help London staff support and treat more patients, they need access to O-negative and O-positive blood, so if one of these is your blood type, please come forward to one of the 13,000 appointments currently available in NHS blood donor centres.”

NHSBT said that following the bank holidays and school half-term holidays, the NHS currently has lower than normal stocks of type-O blood.