IV bags containing blood are pictured next to a woman’s hospital bed.
Blood supplies in England are critically low following a cyber attack on a London pathology supplier in June.
The nation had less than two days worth of a universal blood type that can be given to everyone from Thursday.
This is well below the target level of six days’ supply of all blood types at all times. Several other types of blood – B-negative, O-positive, A-positive, AB-negative and B-positive – had a supply of between three and 5.5 days.
Stocks of only two types (A negative and AB positive) were above the six-day threshold.
The National Health Service Blood and Transplant asked hospitals to minimize the use of O-negative blood, which is often used in emergencies, because of the shortage.
The organization issued an amber alert on supplies, giving hospitals the green light to start emergency blood management processes.
This means they can send extra staff to the laboratories to ensure, among other things, that O-negative blood is only used under the right circumstances.
But hospitals will continue to carry out urgent and urgent operations, transplants, cancer operations and blood transfusions for people with long-term conditions, the NHSBT said.
The organization urged the public to donate blood to help boost supplies. It aims to fill approximately 12,000 available appointments over the next two weeks.
‘Perfect storm’ of pressure
Unfulfilled blood donation appointments have left the blood supply in a relatively fragile state.
At the same time, a major cyber attack has driven up demand, creating a ‘perfect storm’ of pressure on blood supplies, the NHSBT said.
Hospitals in the capital are using more O-negative blood than normal due to a recent cyber attack on pathology company Synnovis.
Doctors normally test a patient’s blood type before giving transfusions. But testing capacity in several major London hospitals remains low.
The English public do not know his blood type unless he has donated blood before. They are not usually tested at birth or as part of standard health checks.
“Hospitals require three blood donations every minute to deal with emergencies, deliveries and routine treatments. Blood only has a shelf life of 35 days, so the [health service] needs blood all year round,” NHSBT chief medical officer Gail Miflin said in a statement.
She said the country “ultimately” needed more people to become regular donors.
“Women can donate once every four months and men can donate once every three months,” she added.
Devastating cyber attack
The Synnovis cyber attack has resulted in weeks of chaos for healthcare providers, including some of London’s largest hospitals.
King’s College London Hospital Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital FT have been forced to cancel a number of operations, while GPs in south-east London continue to face significantly reduced capacity for blood tests.
Hackers previously published around 400 GB of data seized as part of the ransomware attack. It contained at least some patient information, such as names and health care system registration numbers.
A cyber gang called Qilin is reportedly behind the attack.
