Record demand for blood donations to help sickle cell patients prompts urgent call for donors of Black heritage

We’re proud to be supporting Black History Month this October. We would love your help promoting our #InOurBlood campaign, as we continue to increase the number of people of Black heritage donating blood. For many people with Sickle cell, ethnically matched blood often provides the best treatment, and this year we need 16,600 Black Caribbean or Black African donors to help save or improve lives.

It's #InOurBlood to help people living with sickle cell. Strength can be found in communities coming together - just like a family. That's why Black communities have the unifying power to treat sickle cell and help friends and neighbours who are battling this disease. During Black History Month, we are urging people of Black heritage to donate blood.

Sickle cell is a serious, lifelong and life-threatening blood disorder that mainly affects people of Black African and Black Caribbean ethnicity. New figures from NHS Blood and Transplant reveal that a record 250 donations are now needed every day to treat people with sickle cell, many of whom who need regular blood transfusions every four to six weeks.

This figure shows a huge increase in demand - only 150 donations a day were needed five years ago.

And hospital demand is likely to rise even further, by 14% over the next five years.

Blood donations save lives.

Sickle cell is the fastest growing genetic disorder/condition in the UK. Sickle cell symptoms include anaemia, strokes, blindness, bone damage, and over time can experience damage to organs, such as liver, kidney, lungs, heart and spleen. Ethnically matched blood provides the best treatment - without it people with sickle cell are at risk of strokes, organ failure or even death. This year 16,600 Black Caribbean or Black African donors are urgently needed to give patients the life enhancing and life saving treatments they need. The power to treat sickle cell is #InOurBlood.

How you can help

Child laughing with graphic containing messaging 'Not family, but blood' and It's #InOurBlood to treat sickle cell. Book today at blood.co.uk

You can help us save lives by sharing our campaign messaging and assets to your followers.

#InOurBlood suggested social media posts:

The power to help treat sickle cell is #InOurBlood. Blood donors of Black heritage are urgently needed. Help save up to 3 lives in one hour. Book now at blood.co.uk

Not family, but blood

It’s #InOurBlood to treat sickle cell.

Just 60 minutes can save up to 3 lives. Book now at blood.co.uk

Accompanying #InOurBlood assets:

Please accompany your posts with campaign assets from our promoting donation hub.

Please support us by sharing this campaign toolkit with your family and friends - https://sway.office.com/3JE8EAMXG1vfku9D?ref=Link

NHS Blood and Transplant

 Twitter @NHSBT  

Visit  nhsbt.nhs.uk

Researching Roles and Religious Belief

A half-day exploring chaplaincy roles and how religion influences behaviour with input from Martin Walton and Shola Oladipo

29th November, 09:00 - 13:45

Tickets are available from Eventbrite here.

Martin Walton is professor emeritus of chaplaincy studies at the Protestant Theological University in the Netherlands. Born in the USA (Corpus Christi, Texas 1953) as a son of a Methodist minister, he received a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from the Colorado College. After two years in Berlin doing ecumenical work, he studied theology at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands where he received his PhD in theological ethics. For four years he served as a minister of a local congregation of the Reformed Church in the Netherlands and for fifteen years as a chaplain in mental health care, before receiving a position at the Protestant Theological University. His primary research interests have been interpretations of chaplaincy care by patients, conceptualizations of the domain of chaplaincy and case studies in chaplaincy.

Martin will present on:

Session 1: Case Studies Research. The Dutch Case Studies Project in Chaplaincy Care was a five year endeavour (2016 to 2021) in which about 60 chaplains worked with academic researchers in six research communities providing detailed descriptions of encounters with others in care settings, prisons and the military. The overall research question was: What do chaplains do, for what reasons and to what ends? Besides formulating a concise answer to the research question, I will offer some insights drawn from the cases with regard to use of ritual, counselling and methodology, the role of aesthetic aspects and outcomes of care. I will then offer some general observations on the participating chaplains, and then turn to reflect on the method, format and challenges of the research itself.

Session two: Roles of Chaplains. Much has been written in recent years on the functions and competences of chaplains. I want to address the question what roles might the chaplain fulfil in order to exercise those functions and competences in an optimal and facilitating fashion. After first considering some ways in which roles and images of the pastor have been addressed, I will propose four role formulations, each of a slightly paradoxical nature: expert learner, welcoming guest, accompanying artist and distinctive colleague.

Shola Oladipo is a PhD candidate at Coventry university. Her research paradigm centres on the role of Black Majority Church Leaders (BMCL) and health inequalities. Shola is also a church leader, registered dietitian and entrepreneur. She oversees a community interest company – Food for Purpose; which supports ethnic faith communities with culturally relevant health solutions to support healthy living.

Alongside culture and traditional beliefs, health perceptions are influenced by religion and faith in the Black community. The Black majority church (BMC) is particularly prominent in South London, and studies show that Black majority church leaders (BMCL) are viewed as role models and decisions makers; instrumental in influencing health choices and behaviours. In her 2 sessions Shola will present findings from studies involving BMCL in South London

Session 1 - Perceptions of BMCL relating to health and causes of illness. A socio-cultural lens was employed to explore the perceptions of illness causation amongst participants in this qualitative study. Using the Common-Sense Model of illness perceptions to categorise data, findings from this study describe the views of South London based Black Majority church leaders (BMCL).

Session 2 - Response of BMCL to COVID-19 vaccine campaign in UK. Since the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the UK, data from surveys have indicated greater vaccine hesitancy among people from Black African – Caribbean communities. This qualitative study examined the responses of BMCL in South London, with respect to the COVID-19 vaccine campaign. The Health Belief Model (HBM) theory was used as a framework to inform this study design to access constructs which are known to influence health behaviours related to vaccination.

Timetable

08:45 Gathering

09:00 Welcome/Introduction/Opening Reflection

09:10 Shola 1

09:55 Short break

10:00 Martin 1

11:15 Break

11:25 Martin 2

12:40 Short break

12:45 Shola 2

13:30 Short Plenary

13:40 Closing prayer/reflection

13:45 Close

Note: If you are a Free Church Healthcare Chaplain, please contact Thandar at info@freechurches.org.uk for a discount code.

Photo credit: Photo by Markus Winkler at Pexels

National Blood Week 2022, 13th - 19th June 2022

This week marks the National Blood Week (13th June to 19th June), and we’re encouraging more people to donate and find out their blood type. We have some great social media assets and information to share, and would really appreciate your help in getting these out to your family and friends.

The National Blood Week materials are now live on the hub here, please do download and share as you think most appropriate.

Here is also a Sway document with key messaging and how you can get involved this National Blood Week.

NHS Blood and Transplant

Organ donation law changed – Two Years Anniversary

Today marks the second anniversary of the #OrganDonation opt out system coming into effect in England, known as ‘Max and Keira’s Law’. You still have a choice if you want to be an organ donor or not when you die and families will always be involved. www.organdonation.nhs.uk

Families are more likely to support organ donation going ahead if they know what their loved one would have wanted. Have you had the conversation? www.organdonation.nhs.uk

NKF and NBTA webinar – Friday 20th May at 3.30pm

The webinar organised by the National Kidney Federation (NKF) and the National Black, Asian, Mixed Race, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Transplant Alliance (NBTA). This will take place on 20th May at 3.30pm, to mark the second anniversary of the organ donation law change. More details can be found on the poster here.

NHS Blood and Transplant – ‘Give Hope this Easter’ Campaign

We are excited to bring you our Easter campaign, which will run from 14th April to 19th April 2022. For many people, Easter is a time of hope and a celebration of the gift of life. So, it’s a perfect time to consider blood or organ donation.

The campaign aims to raise awareness about how we can help our friends, family and community, through the gift of organ donation or blood donation at this special time of year. Through press and social media activity, we will be encouraging people to register as a blood donor and book an appointment to donate blood, as well as talk about organ donation with your loved ones and register your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

We especially want to get more people of Black heritage talking about blood and organ donation. Can you help us?

The need for more blood donors of Black heritage:

• Sickle cell mainly affects people of Black heritage, and many people living with Sickle cell require regular blood transfusions.

• Black blood donors are ten times more likely to have the rare blood sub type (type Ro) needed to provide the best match

• That’s why we need more people of Black heritage registering as blood donors and booking an appointment to donate blood.

The need for more organ donors of Black heritage:

• We need more people from Black communities to tell their families they want to donate. Organ donation saves lives.

• Black ethnicity patients are over-represented on the transplant waiting list and more likely to need an organ transplant, due to susceptibility to illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension, which can result in organ failure.

• Certain organs, such as kidneys (which three quarters of people on the transplant waiting list are waiting for) are matched by blood group and tissue type. People from the same ethnic background are more likely to be a match

Easter campaign activity

We are excited to bring you some new content, we would love for you to share with your networks! Look out for these on NHSBT social media channels or you can download the videos here

• Video featuring BBC presenter Cole Morton sharing his message on organ donation

• Videos featuring Muyiwa Olarewaju, Premier gospel presenter and a singer song writer, sharing an important message on blood donation and organ donation

• Video featuring Tim Campbell, from the Apprentice, with a special message on blood and organ donation – we will share this video with you later this week

• New social media assets are available to download and share on your social media channels (the social assets are sized to fit most social platforms)

• A press release will go live on 14th April

Here are ways you can help us spread the word across your audiences:

1. Follow our social media channels @NHSOrganDonor @GiveBloodNHS, join the conversation, and share our campaign content

2. Share our Easter campaign social media assets, which are available to download here

Please use our recommended hashtags #GiveHope #Easter

3. Our press release goes live on our website on Thursday 14th April – please share with your networks 4. Encourage people to visit our websites to find out more

Blood donation – https://www.blood.co.uk/

Organ donation - https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/

Suggested social media captions

#GiveHope this #Easter – join @NHSOrganDonor and help save lives

#GiveHope this #Easter – talk to your loved ones about organ donation and register your decision @NHSOrganDonor #GiveHope this #Easter – join @GiveBloodNHS and help save lives

#GiveHope this #Easter – sign up as a blood donor and book an appointment to donate @GiveBloodNHS

Aretha and Shanann’s story

There are always inspiring stories to share – people whose lives have been impacted by organ or blood donation. Here you can find and watch a touching story of Aretha and her daughter Shanann, who is a kidney and pancreas recipient. https://bit.ly/3Kzuh3H

Aretha comes from a family where organ donation was never openly discussed and she was against organ donation, but after seeing how a transplant has improved her daughter’s life, Aretha is now a passionate advocate for organ donation and encourages more people of Black heritage to register as organ donors.

NHS Blood and Transplant

Do something amazing today

- Give Blood. Organ donation. The gift of life. You can visit us at www.nhsbt.nhs.uk