The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) is the national

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...

blood product A blood product is any therapeutic substance prepared from human blood. This includes whole blood; blood components; and plasma derivatives. Whole blood is not commonly used in transfusion medicine. Blood components include: red blood cell conc ...

and tissue provider. It makes up a Strategic Business Unit of

NHS National Services Scotland NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) is a Non Departmental Public Body which provides advice and services to the rest of NHS Scotland. Accountable to the Scottish Government, NSS works at the heart of the health service, providing national str ...

(NSS).

History

Poster The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Association

The first dedicated transfusion service in Scotland was formed at the

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

in the 1930s. The Edinburgh Blood Transfusion Service (EBTS) was established in 1936 with Jack Copland as Organiser and Helen White as Secretary. Helen White took over as Organiser in 1940 when Copland moved into a national role. The first meeting of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Associsation (SNBTA) took place in Edinburgh in February 1940.

Key personnel

In the 1940s Helen White played a key role in the development of the blood donor service in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland, on her initiative a network of voluntary organisers was established. The network was characterised by its friendliness and the care she took in making voluntary donation an enjoyable activity.

Centres

There are five blood centres, in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

. The SNBTS also has several mobile units that travel to the remote centres and communities. These are usually set up in

village hall A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as: United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...

s and community centres. They tend to return approximately every 13 weeks, which can allow for up to four donations each year. In November 2011 it was announced that a new national centre would be built within the Heriot-Watt research park in Edinburgh, and would include labs, offices and other facilities. By October 2014, construction work had begun on the new £43 million facility. The new centre is due to be completed in 2017 and has been funded using the Scottish Government’s Non Profit Distributing (NPD) model.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Blood banks in the United Kingdom NHS Scotland Government agencies established in 1930 1930 establishments in Scotland Organisations based in Edinburgh

History

Key personnel

Centres

See also

References

External links