Blood donor campaign targets ethnic minorities

Thursday, 18 August 2005 12:00 AM

The National Blood Service (NBS) has launched a campaign specifically designed to persuade more ethnic minority groups to give blood.

Only three per cent of those who donated blood last year were of Asian, African and Afro-Caribbean descent, but the "Are you my type?" campaign is hoping to change this.

The NBS has launched numerous awareness campaigns targeted at the population as a whole, as only five per cent of the eligible population donates blood but hospitals need 8,000 blood donations every day.

But the focus on ethnic minorities is particularly urgent because some blood types are more common, or even only available, in people from certain ethnic backgrounds.

For example, blood group B is found most commonly found in black African and Caribbean populations, while 25 per cent of Asians are also this type, compared to nine per cent of western Europeans.

There are also some types of blood that are only found in certain ethnic groups - U negative is only found in black African / Caribbean populations.

The campaign is also aimed at raising awareness of people's blood types. Research by the NBS finds people from ethnic minorities are nearly six times less likely to know their own type than the national average, currently 41 per cent.

In addition, Muslim leaders have been involved in the campaign to reassure fears among some Muslims that giving blood is against the teachings of Islam. NBS officials said Islamic scholars have issued assurances that donating is not only permitted but praiseworthy.

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