NHSBT1190 - Community Organising in South London

NHS Blood and Transplant wish to pilot a community organising in South London in order to promote blood donation in black African and Caribbean communities. The objective is that the community organising will work with NHSBT to develop and empower thirty people in South London to form a voluntary collective of advocates who can promote blood donation and recruit at least 1700 new donors from these specific communities. NHSBT needs to recruit a significant number of new blood donors from these communities due to an increase in demand from the HS for specific types of blood to treat sickle cell patients. 40,000 more black African and black Caribbean donors are needed to meet growing demand for better matched blood and a special subtype of blood more common in black people. Currently, only 1% of people who give blood in England are black. Research conducted in 2015 by ESRO Limited revealed some of the barriers and motivations of people from BAME communities towards blood donation. This research recommended engagement at a local level, as communities react well to people that they trust and who understand them. Organisations must have a track record in community organising. This pilot is to test the theory that community empowerment and development that focuses on one-to-one relationships and community capacity building will address health inequalities and help to recruit blood donors in black communities.