Giving blood is a wonderful thing to do and everyone should therefore do it (if allowed to – do check the rules), but the NHS needs more black blood donors in particular. And the reasons have been summed up beautifully by a thread on the official Twitter account for the blood service in England – @GiveBloodNHS.
So, people keep asking - why do we need more black blood donors? Isn’t everyone’s blood the same? You’re racist! ISSA THREAD:November 7, 2017
It’s rare to find a thread that marries vital information with exquisite GIF selection so successfully, so make sure you read through the entire thing to get all the facts about blood donation and why more black donors are urgently required.
The tl;dr version of the answer is that blood is more complex than the A, B and O types we’re all vaguely aware of and transfusion requires as close a match as possible. People from the same ethnic background are more likely to be a blood match, and one subgroup of blood is more commonly found in black people.
NOW this is where it gets really important, so please make sure to take notes and stop messing at the back. pic.twitter.com/sZLIQAEqJSNovember 7, 2017
There’s a whole load more info in the full thread, but it’s always worth highlighting one other blood donation fact in particular.
Black people are more likely to have a rare subgroup called Ro. Ten times more likely than a white person. pic.twitter.com/1A6LIMXR5PNovember 7, 2017
For the best response to the @GiveBloodNHS thread, we turn to another blood service with a surprisingly strong GIF game.
This thread... pic.twitter.com/oHkgVg3FerNovember 7, 2017
If you have any other questions about donating blood, head on over to our explainer article on the topic, Answers To All Of Your Very Important Blood Donation Questions . Then go give blood!
