UK short of 'black blood': Only 1% active 'black' donors as sickle cell surges to top genetic condition

London: After Stats showed that black people make only 1% of the blood donors across the country, UK government has launched a campaign to encourage people of black heritage to donate blood in order to save black lives.

As part of the campaign, influential black people have been asked to motivate people to donate blood and address the bigger cause which is to help black people fight deadly diseases.

As per reports, the campaign has been launched in order to enable people of black fraternity to fight against deadly genetic diseases such as sickle cell, which is the fastest growing genetic condition in the UK. And doctors believe its best treatment is using blood that is an ethnic match.

The campaign to raise awareness of the issue has been started by Lord Simon Woolley, the originator of Operation Black Vote, Dame Sharon White, the chair of the John Lewis Partnership, and Anne Mensah, Netflix’s vice president for UK content, according to a Sky news report.

According to the most recent NHS Blood and Transplant data, barely 1% of active donors in the nation are Black.

The best treatment for illnesses like sickle cell anaemia is blood that matches the patient’s ethnicity.

As she gave blood at a brand-new NHS donor site in east London to launch the campaign, Dame Sharon said to Sky News, “I have a sickle cell trait in my family, but we were very lucky we have not had the full-blown condition. Anything I can do to inspire people to donate blood is wonderful.

Dame Sharon, who hadn’t given blood in 20 years, said it was wonderful to support her neighbourhood.

She continued, “It’s just such a small thing to do that can have such a wonderful impact on those in need.”

Compared to 2% of the general population, more than 55% of Black people in the UK have the Ro subtype needed by sickle cell sufferers, and 250 donations per day are now required to treat sickle cell, the UK’s fastest-growing genetic disorder, as opposed to 150 per day five years ago.

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