Unions tell govt: 'Blood not for sale'

Friday, 11 March 2011 12:01 AM

By politics.co.uk staff

Lives will be put at risk if private companies are used in the National Blood Service (NBS), unions have warned.

Department of Health (DoH) officials held talks with private contractors, including Capita and DHL, about running parts of the NBS, according to a report in the Health Service Journal.

But unions have issued a sharp response. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said people would stop giving blood if private companies made a profit from donations.

"The blood service is the 'big society' writ large. Hundreds of thousands of donors regularly give up their blood to help save lives for free, untainted by the profit motive," he said.

"If any part of the blood service was handed over to companies who are making a profit, then this turns the whole thing on its head.

"In fact it is possible that many people will not want to give blood free if they believed that private companies are making money out of it and will simply walk away - putting lives at risk."

Unite have launched a campaign called 'BloodMoney' and the union's petition has been signed by 25,000 people this week.

Jennie Bremner, assistant general secretary of Unite, said there was a "clear moral contradiction" in using private companies to collect blood.

"Donors help save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year including cancer patients, accident victims and women giving birth who develop complications," said Ms Bremner.

"Anyone who can see the clear moral contradiction in giving blood freely to help others for it then to be used for profit by the private sector should get behind Unite's campaign to urge David Cameron to stop the blood money."

"The message is getting louder by the hour as more people join the campaign - our blood is not for sale."

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• health