A RALLY call has been made for blood specifically from the black African and black Caribbean groups across Dorset.

It follows a new five-year blood strategy from the NHS focusing on increasing number and diversity of donors, with an urgent need for more black African, black Caribbean ethnicity to treat people with sickle cell.

Sickle cell is the fastest growing genetic blood disorder in the UK and mostly affects people of black heritage, and requires regular transfusions – most often with the specific blood sub type Ro.

A spokesman from NHS Blood and Transplant said: "We can only meet around half of the demand for Ro blood through our existing donor base and demand for this rare blood type is rising.

"This means many sickle cell patients often receive less well-matched blood which, while clinically suitable, can pose a longer-term risk to patients who receive regular transfusions."

The five-year Blood Service Strategy, published at the start of National Blood Week, sets ambitious plans to recruit up to a million new donors and double the number of regular donors with the rarest blood types. This will ensure better matched blood types for patients in the future and reduce health inequalities.

NHS Blood and Transplant are urging people in Dorset to give blood as new targets reveal 1,589 new donors are needed in the county to save lives over the next year.