A REGIONAL health chief has warned that a dwindling number of donors could increase the pressure on Suffolk’s life-saving blood stocks.

According to new figures seen by the East Anglian Daily Times there has been a 4.8% drop in the number of people giving blood since 2009/10, from 20,591 to 19,596 people.

Derek Carr, lead donor relations manager for NHS Blood and Transplant in East Anglia, said, while the drop in people donating blood would not have an impact on current supplies, there could be “serious implications” for the future.

The number of collections in the county has also dipped, falling from 38,076 in 2009/10 to 37,364, last year.

Meanwhile, the figures have also painted a bleak picture for Norfolk, Suffolk and Waveney with the number of people giving blood having fallen by more than 3,000 compared to three years ago.

Mr Carr said: “Unfortunately, as the figures highlight, we have had a slight decline in the number of collections made from people in the area as well as the number of donors.

“This is only just below the trend nationally, but we would urge people to roll up their sleeve and pop down to their next session. There is always a number of donors who can no longer give and we rely heavily on new volunteers coming.

“This is particularly important at the moment, as we have seen significantly less people signing up since the summer.

“Although this doesn’t have an impact on current supplies, this could have serious implications further down the line.”The figures reveal that in England and North Wales the number of people donating blood had fallen by 4.7%.

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