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26 February 2026

How many more donors does Scotland need?

Every day, Scotland needs around 450 blood donors to meet the needs of patients in hospitals across the country. However, fewer people are donating than before, and that puts pressure on Scotland’s blood supply.

19 February 2026

Why do we need more plasma donors?

SNBTS continually balances the need for blood, plasma and platelets with the number of donors available. This changes regularly, depending on what patients need at any given time.

Over one-third of all donations are used to help patients living with cancer and receiving cancer treatment.

Blood has a shelf life of up to 35 days, so why do we badly need people to come forward to our Donor Centres on special days such as Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, Hogmanay and 2nd January?

An update of how bloodstocks are looking for Christmas 2025

Donors who have visited malarial countries can now give a full donation immediately.

As an O Negative donor, you play an incredible role in saving lives across Scotland because your blood can be given to anyone in an emergency.

'I had to prepare Millie for the possibility that Mum wouldn’t be there on Christmas Day,' says Kelly Butler, 34, from Aberdeen.

Dunfermline mummy Nicolle Hollick explains just how critical blood donations were for her family.

Christmas campaign calls for new donors as figures reveal less than 2% of Scots are blood donors

Current blood stock levels across Scotland Monday 02 March

We aim to retain 6 days of stocks at any time in order to meet the requirements of patients in Scotland.

Learn more about blood types