Hansard

What a lovely celebratory debate, in which there is consensus across the chamber and we recognise the importance of a service that runs really well in our community, thank everyone and encourage more people to come forward and donate blood.

I thank Fulton MacGregor for bringing the motion to the chamber and all members for their contributions. I particularly want to thank all the blood donors for continuing to come forward in spite of the on-going pandemic. Blood donors are vital to keeping our NHS going and they are saving lives across Scotland, as we have heard through the stories that folk have told in the debate.

Throughout the pandemic, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service has continued to provide enough blood to meet the needs of NHS Scotland, but demand for blood fluctuates and the changes that are needed to keep blood donation safe during the pandemic have at times made it more challenging for SNBTS to collect enough blood. Therefore, I welcome Fulton MacGregor’s calls for people who can donate blood to do so.

I also take the opportunity to reiterate Fulton’s MacGregor’s thanks to all the staff at SNBTS for the work that they do to make sure that there are enough blood supplies. They work incredibly hard to ensure that the blood that they supply is safe for transfusion recipients. SNBTS has plans in place to ensure that there are sufficient donors and it had a brilliant response from the people of Scotland to its recent radio, TV and media campaigns. The SNBTS amazing stories campaign highlighted personal stories of people who have received life-saving blood donations. The campaign led to more than 1,000 people logging into the online booking system on the campaign launch day. That is a success.

Thousands of existing donors with specific blood groups have been contacted, asking them to make an extra special effort to donate and that work will continue. SNBTS has also opened a new donor centre in Livingston shopping centre, which has proved popular with donors. Community groups are also being very supportive and I give specific thanks to Livingston Football Club and Heart of Midlothian Football Club, as well as the many workplaces throughout Scotland that have encouraged their employees to donate. I sense that we might be able to co-ordinate something in the Parliament, as well.

Generally, SNBTS has always maintained supplies successfully, but it has become more challenging given the on-going coronavirus restrictions. Unfortunately, as has already been noted in the debate, we have seen a decrease in the number of people donating blood during the pandemic. As Fulton MacGregor said, the number of active blood donors in Scotland fell from more than 105,000 in 2019-20 to around 92,000 in 2020-21. At the same time, on average, the demand for blood has also increased by about 5 per cent against pre-pandemic levels.

Recently, the number of donors has started to increase again and blood stock levels right now are good. I hope that that will continue. We all have a part to play. As Sandesh Gulhane’s story illustrated, all members are acutely aware of the pent-up demand for elective surgery in our NHS. As the NHS recovers, the need for blood donations will increase.

In the past 12 months, SNBTS has welcomed more than 12,000 new donors. That is great, but it would love to welcome more. I can reassure people that SNBTS has triage, hygiene and physical distancing measures in place to ensure the safety of donors at its collection venues. Yes, juice and biscuits are provided at the end—but sadly no cups of tea at the moment.

Finally, I would also like to extend thanks to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, councils and other venue providers for their commitment to working with SNBTS to provide suitable community blood collection venues in spite of difficulties associated with the pandemic and the competition for such spaces—many of the spaces that are usually used for blood donation are being used as vaccination centres.

In addition to blood donation, SNBTS delivers a wide range of other vital services, including living and deceased tissue donation and important research on regenerative medicine.

Last year, we received updated advice from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the Commission on Human Medicines that it is now sufficiently safe to use UK plasma to produce immunoglobulin medicines, so SNBTS is also now collecting plasma from some of our amazing donors. Immunoglobulins are often life-saving medicines, particularly for patients with primary immunodeficiencies. Although collection levels are currently low, SNBTS is working on proposals to allow us to consider increasing these plasma collections in the coming years.

SNBTS has also played an important role in supporting Scotland’s response to coronavirus. Back in 2020, it provided support with coronavirus testing. More recently, SNBTS has developed a new T-cell therapy for patients with Covid-19, which is being trialled. Last but by no means least, it has also provided vaccine storage facilities and distribution for NHS Scotland.

I will pull out just one point from the debate—although there were many good points. Paul O’Kane and Rona Mackay talked about the increase in eligibility for donation, which is very important. It overturns a long-standing discrimination and stigma. I, too, am delighted about it. I have many friends who are now able to donate. It is a delight for them to be able to participate in this altruistic activity that saves lives. Every time a person donates, they can save not just one life but potentially up to three. It is a phenomenal thing to be able to do and I am glad that more people are able to do it.

SNBTS provides a wide range of important services to support patients across Scotland. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care visited the SNBTS headquarters at the Jack Copland centre in October to meet staff and I know that he was impressed by the range of work that they do.

I will take the liberty of making a personal comment. I want to thank SNBTS personally. I am one of many people in Scotland who have haemochromatosis—it is a common disorder—a genetic disease that is very common among Scots and Irish people. I build up too much iron in my blood. SNBTS makes it possible for me to manage that condition in way that does not interfere with my work. I can pedal from here to the donor centre after work, give a pint of blood, and manage my condition. I am very grateful for that. I know that it is not the answer for everyone, but it is an answer for me.

I am grateful, both personally and as a minister, for all the hard work. I thank the thousands of people who give up their time to donate blood, as well as the millions of Scots who have signed up to donate tissue and organs after they die on the organ donor register. Those crucial services could not operate without the wonderful gift from the donors. I encourage anyone who is eligible to give blood. Find out more by going on the SNBTS website at scotblood.co.uk or by calling 0345 90 90 999.