Hospitals may have to postpone some elective surgery, but emergency care should not be affected.
Blood supplies have fallen to a critically low level in England, which has made NHS Blood and Transplant declare its first amber alert.A lack of staff to care for people giving blood is thought to be behind the shortage.
"If you are O Positive or O Negative in particular, please make an appointment to give blood as soon as you can. If you already have an appointment, please keep it," Ms Clark said. Staff are being recruited quickly to fill vacant positions and open up more appointments, and agency staff are also being sought.
But the blood shortage is only likely to increase the record 6.84 million people already waiting for hospital treatment or operations in England - nearly one in eight people.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
First-ever amber alert issued by NHS over blood supplies as they fall critically lowOngoing staffing issues are also thought to have contributed to the amber status, with more workers needed at donor sessions.
Read more »
NHS declares first-ever amber alert as blood stocks fall critically lowOverall blood stocks in the NHS stand at 3.1 days but levels of O type blood have fallen to below two days
Read more »
Rio Tinto warns of excess globalisation in supply chains for critical metals\n\t\t\tExpert insights, analysis and smart data help you cut through the noise to spot trends,\n\t\t\trisks and opportunities.\n\t\t\n\t\tJoin over 300,000 Finance professionals who already subscribe to the FT.
Read more »
Dental practice applies to convert former Lincoln galleryDental practice applies to convert former Lincoln gallery
Read more »