NHS Blood and Transplant is an executive
non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of n ...
of the United Kingdom's
Department of Health and Social Care
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwis ...
.
It was established on 1 October 2005 to take over the responsibilities of two separate NHS agencies: UK Transplant (now renamed Organ Donation and Transplantation), founded by
Dr. Geoffrey Tovey in 1972, and the National Blood Service (now renamed Blood Donation). Its remit is to provide a reliable, efficient supply of blood, organs and associated services to the NHS. Since NHSBT was established, the organisation has maintained or improved the quality of the services delivered to patients, stabilised the rising cost of blood, and centralised a number of corporate services.
Overview
It has the responsibility for optimising the supply of blood, organs and tissues and raising the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of blood and
transplant services. Its roles are stated to include:
* encouraging people to donate organs, blood and tissues
* optimising the safety and supply of blood, organs and tissues (within the NHS)
* helping to raise the quality, effectiveness and clinical outcomes of NHS blood and transplant services
* providing expert advice to other NHS organisations, the
Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
, Ministers and devolved administrations
* providing appropriate advice and support to health services in other countries
* commissioning and conducting research and development
* actively engaging in implementing relevant EU statutory frameworks and guidance
* being involved in broader international developments
In 2009/10 its strategic objectives were focused on the efficient provision of a safe and sustainable supply of blood and its components, the identification and referral of more organ donors and the establishment of NHSBT as an effective and responsive organisation, focused on the needs of donors and patients. The year saw a record high in organ donation and transplantation together with an increase in the number of people signing up to donate blood.
Information technology
The Core System Modernisation Programme which was meant to modernise the organisation’s information technogy systems was abandoned in 2018 with costs of £26 million written off.
Operations
Blood Donation
![UK Blood Donor Awards](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/UK_Blood_Donor_Awards.jpg)
The National Blood Service, now renamed NHS
Blood Donation
A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for blood transfusion, transfusions and/or made into biopharmaceutical medications by a process called Blood fractionation, fractionation (separation of whole blood com ...
, is the organisation for England which collects blood and other tissues, tests, processes, and supplies all the hospitals in England. Other official blood services in the United Kingdom include the
Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service
The Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service (NIBTS) is an independent, special agency of the Department of Health in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of th ...
,
Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service
The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) is the national blood, blood product and tissue provider. It makes up a Strategic Business Unit of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS).
History
The first dedicated transfusion service ...
and the
Welsh Blood Service.
The National Blood Service was formed in 1946 as the National Blood Transfusion Service of England and Wales (NBTS). The National Blood Authority was established as a Special Health Authority in 1993 and assumed control of the 12 English Regional Transfusion Centres in 1994. The National Blood Service became a nationally coordinated body in 1996. The service operates out of fifteen centres, and collects around 2.1 million donations per year and supplies 8,000 units of blood every day. Service directors proposed a reconfiguration and centralisation strategy in 2006, based on the closure of most local processing and testing labs, and subsequent operation out of just three large 'supercentres' to serve the same geographical area. Staff opposed this strategy,. In July 2015 it was decided to shut the blood supply chain manufacturing facilities in Sheffield and Newcastle in 2017 and transfer their work to Manchester.
![Battenburg-blood](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Battenburg-blood.svg)
Blood donation vehicles are allowed the use of
blue lights and sirens (known commonly "
blues and twos
Emergency vehicle equipment is used in the United Kingdom to indicate urgent journeys by an emergency service. This usage is colloquially known as "blues and twos", which refers to the blue lights and the two-tone siren once commonplace (altho ...
") for the use of emergency blood transports. In some cases this will also require the use of a police escort for the transporting vehicle in order to safely and quickly navigate major road junctions. Escort is normally provided by several motorbike units.
The service depends entirely on voluntary donations from the public. Originally, blood was collected from various donor clinics located over the country. In 1994, the first mobile session was held in Elstree, hosted by
The Joely Bear Appeal. In the South West from 1946 and since the formation of the NHS the service was primarily a mobile collection service visiting all parts of the mainly rural community. Originally Local Organisers called up the Donors from their own lists; this only changed in the 1990s. This link with the Local Organisers was inherited from the Wartime Red Cross (mainly) and St.Johns blood collection teams. These mobile teams continue to collect, but two centres- Bristol and Plymouth (Derriford) have static bases in local venues. Currently, blood donation sessions are set up throughout the country and take place in many diverse venues, from village halls, workplaces and mobile collection units (known as
Bloodmobile
A bloodmobile is a mobile blood donation center. It is a vehicle (usually a bus or a large van) equipped with everything necessary for a blood donation procedure. Blood drives involving bloodmobiles usually happen in public places such as coll ...
s). Donors are generally required to be fit and healthy, weigh and aged between 17 and 60. However, regular (healthy) donors are permitted to donate past the age of 60 as long as they remain healthy. Donors are encouraged to give blood up to three times a year (once every 16 weeks). Since February 2012, male donors have been allowed to donate up to four times a year. In 2013-14 1,986 people complained they had been turned away from walk-in sessions. 1,949 said they did not have their blood taken even when they had made an appointment.
Besides the main blood donations, known as "whole blood",
platelets
Platelets, also called thrombocytes (from Greek θρόμβος, "clot" and κύτος, "cell"), are a component of blood whose function (along with the coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping, thereby ini ...
are also collected. As platelets can only be stored for a few days, regular and frequent donors are in great demand and that is why platelet donors are asked to attend at least 8 – 10 times per year.
Organ Donation and Transplantation
![NHS transplant service office - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/NHS_transplant_service_office_-_geograph.org.uk_-_345233.jpg)
Organ Donation and Transplantation ensures that organs donated for transplant are matched and allocated to patients in a fair and unbiased way. Matching, particularly in the case of kidneys, is so important that donation and allocation needs to be organised nationally. The larger the pool of organs, the better the likelihood there is of a good match. Unlike some other NHS organisations, it does not have a direct relationship with patients and do not provide "hands on" care. However, in providing support to transplantation services across England, everything it does affects the quality of service delivered to individual patients.
In the 1968 National Tissue Typing and Reference Laboratory was established at
Southmead Hospital
Southmead Hospital is a large public National Health Service hospital, situated in the area of Southmead, though in Horfield ward, in the northern suburbs of Bristol, England. It is part of the North Bristol NHS Trust. The 800-bed Brunel Buildi ...
in Bristol. The National Organ Matching and Distribution Service was founded in 1972 and the two organisations merged in 1979 to form the UK Transplant Service.
In 1991 the UK Transplant Service became an NHS special health authority and was renamed the United Kingdom Transplant Support Service Authority. It moved to purpose-built accommodation at
Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford is a village and parish in South Gloucestershire, England, in the northern suburbs of Bristol. It had around 11,000 residents at the 2001 census, increasing to 15,494 at the 2011 census. It is home to Bristol Parkway station an ...
, in the northern suburbs of Bristol, in 1993. In July 2000, UK Transplant was formed with a new, extended remit to increase organ donation rates. In October 2005 UK Transplant merged with the National Blood Service and the
Bio Products Laboratory
The Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) is a company involved in the manufacture of human blood plasma products, located in Elstree in the United Kingdom. It is run as a commercial business and supplies plasma derived products to the National Health S ...
to form NHS Blood and Transplant.
In 2010, the Bio Products Laboratory became a
limited company
In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...
owned directly by the Department of Health. The Department of Health partly privatised it in 2013, selling a significant majority stake to Bain Capital. The business benefited from investment and growth, enabling full privatisation, achieved when a group controlled by Creat Group Corporation acquired it in 2016.
NHS Organ Donor Register
The NHS Organ Donor Register is a national, confidential list of people who are willing to become donors after their death. It can be quickly accessed to see whether an individual has registered a willingness to be an organ donor.
Filton Blood Centre
NHSBT operates the largest blood processing facility in Europe, capable of processing 1 million units a year. The site also houses the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory, one of the world’s leading laboratories in rare blood identification.
Notes
External links
Regulations governing NHS Blood and Transplant (
statutory instrument
In many countries, a statutory instrument is a form of delegated legislation.
United Kingdom
Statutory instruments are the principal form of delegated or secondary legislation in the United Kingdom.
National government
Statutory instrument ...
).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nhs Blood And Transplant
2005 establishments in the United Kingdom
NHS special health authorities
Health in Bristol
Blood banks in the United Kingdom
Transfusion medicine