Thread by @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:

Do black people have ‘special’ blood? Are we being racist? Is race a social construct? 🙄 Let’s break it down.

First up - blood does the same thing for everyone’s body - it keeps you alive and saves lives. ISSA FACT!

Everyone’s blood IS NOT the same, so you can stop calling us racist.

Blood can have more than 30 different types or blood groups. You’ve all heard of ABO, right? That’s one blood group. 🅰️🅱️🅾️🆎

And you’ve heard of people being ‘positive’ or ‘negative’? That’s another blood group.

mid-thread pause for a shout out to the O negative crew, the donors whose blood can go to anyone.

Blood groups are more or less common in different ethnic groups. So black people are more likely to have, say, B negative blood.

It’s not to say white or Asian people can’t be B negative, or that all black people are B negative.

It just means people from the same ethnic background are more likely to have the same blood groups.

And for blood transfusions to work, you need well matched blood groups.

NOW this is where it gets really important, so please make sure to take notes and stop messing at the back.

Black people are more likely to have a rare subgroup called Ro. Ten times more likely than a white person.

Many people with sickle cell disease have Ro blood.

What is sickle cell disease?
It’s a serious, life threatening genetic condition, that is more common in black people.

People with sickle cell disease develop sickle-shaped blood cells that can’t circulate around their body.

They are at risk of stroke, serious infections, and very painful crisis episodes. Serious stuff.

mid thread link – sickle cell disease is horrible to live with – watch this heart-breaking video

Many people with sickle cell disease need regular blood transfusions of healthy blood to stay alive.

If you keep getting transfusions, and blood is not very well matched, your body will develop resistance to the transfusions.

This means that you may not be able to receive blood safely or the transfusions might not work very well. Not a good look.

That means we need more Ro blood to help the growing number of patients with sickle cell disease.

mid-thread break for the nerds – here’s some proper Brian Cox science on Ro blood.co.uk/why-give-blood…

Why, you may ask, don’t we just say we need Ro blood then?

Well, most people don’t know they have Ro blood, unless they donate and we tell them.

It just doesn’t work if we say we need Ro donors, because then you’ll say, What the heck is Ro?!

However people generally know if they are white, Asian or black

And black people are much more likely to have the Ro subgroup.

So if you are black, hospital patients NEED YOU to help save their lives because we just don’t have enough black donors.

BOTTOM LINE, FINALLY, IT’S COMING.

Blood donation saves lives, whatever your colour. You could save the life of someone of another colour and they could save yours.

And if you are black, please register as a new donor – more and more ill people need your help every day.

Best bit, you get biscuits and a cuppa after each and every donation.