Lack of sessions means Telford blood donor unable to give for more than year
A donor has spoken of her frustration after being unable to get an appointment to give blood in Telford for the past year and a half.
Abi Rogansky, of Newport, says she wanted to become a regular blood donor but the nearest sessions she can find are in Stafford or Wolverhampton.
Last year it was announced that blood donor sessions were being dramatically scaled back in Shropshire and up to 17 members of staff would be made redundant.
It emerged sessions in a number of towns including Oswestry, Telford, Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury would be cut due to a fall in demand in the amount of blood needed.
But Abi, 45, says it is frustrating for anyone who may find it hard to travel to sessions further afield – if they are successful with getting an appointment in the first place.
She said: "About a year and a half ago I decided I wanted to give blood.
"I had no idea what blood group I was.
"I booked the appointment, all the reminders you get were fantastic and they were lovely when I gave blood.
"Because I had a good experience I decided I wanted to become a frequent giver.
"It then came back that my blood group was AB positive which is rare.
"I kept on trying to book another appointment.
"I phoned them, I went online, I did every which way and literally couldn't get an appointment. I had been looking around Telford and there's just nothing. It was saying the nearest places were Stafford or Wolverhampton.
"I've had a nightmare trying to book anything. It's just so irritating.
"I was so excited to be able to give blood, especially as I have a rare blood type."
Jane Whistance, area matron for the West Midlands at NHS Blood and Transplant, said modern hospitals now use less blood due to the latest advancements in treatments and procedures.
She said: "We don’t need to collect as much blood as we used to.
“That’s why we reduced the number of donation sessions in some parts of the country, including changes in Telford in 2018.
“We appreciate it can be frustrating if you want to donate and there is no convenient local appointment.
“But we can assure you that we have enough appointments to collect all the blood hospitals need.
"If local sessions are full, that’s a good sign that we have all the donations we need in that area at that time.
"If we held too many sessions and collected too much blood, some of it would just go to waste.”
