'It's my duty to give blood as often as I can'

Jordan Wilkes said he feels he has a duty to donate blood

A donor has said having a rare blood type compels him to donate his blood regularly.

Jordan Wilkes who was giving blood at Stratford Westfield Blood Donor Centre said: "It's the easiest way of me feeling like I'm giving back to society."

The NHS has been urgently appealing for Londoners to help bolster blood stocks.

Donation centre manager Rexford Osei-Bonsu has said there will "always" be blood donations appointments available.

Mr Wilkes added: "Because I have such a special blood type, I feel it's my duty to give as often as I can.

"The free snacks and free orange juice doesn't hurt."

Vicky O'Brien said she has been donating blood for about 50 years

Vicky O'Brien, who is also a donor, said: "I've been doing it for about 50 years and I do it because I'd be the first to complain if there wasn't anything there for me."

Mr Osei-Bonsu said the process of donating blood is "really quick".

"The whole donation process takes about 15 minutes," he said. "It's painless and simple... and we urge people to come in.

"Even though we say one hour, that one hour takes you from the time you come in and go through all the questions."

Rexford Osei-Bonsu said there will always be appointments that need filling at the blood donation centres

Last year hospitals required 1,000 more units of blood than were collected during the Christmas and new year period.

The NHS said that while the shortage did not affect supplies for patients, it highlighted the scarceness of blood stocks during the festive season.

It aims to collect 1.45 million units of blood annually.

This requires up to 200,000 new blood donors each year to meet patient needs and maintain a diverse range of blood groups.

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