The History of Blood Donation in the UK
, by Andrew Odgers, 11 min reading time
History
The history of blood donation in the UK
The history of blood donation in the UK spans more than a century, from the first successful transfusions during the First World War to the creation of the National Blood Transfusion Service in 1946 and the modern NHS Blood and Transplant service of today. The UK pioneered many of the scientific and organisational advances that underpinned safe blood transfusion worldwide, and its voluntary unpaid model remains a global benchmark for donation safety.
From early science to modern service
A century of blood donation in the United Kingdom
Early transfusion science: the 17th to 19th centuries
The concept of blood transfusion predates modern science by centuries. Early experiments in the 17th century involved transfusing blood between animals, with mixed results. The first recorded human-to-human blood transfusion was performed by James Blundell in London in 1818. Blundell, an obstetrician, developed the procedure primarily to treat postpartum haemorrhage and conducted ten transfusions in the following decade, approximately half of which he considered successful.
Progress in the 19th century was limited by the absence of anticoagulants and the unknown significance of blood type compatibility. Transfusions were unpredictable and often fatal, and the practice fell largely out of use until the scientific advances of the early 20th century transformed understanding of what made them succeed or fail.
The First World War and the birth of blood banking
The First World War produced both the scientific necessity and the clinical volume required to advance transfusion medicine rapidly. The discovery of blood groups by Karl Landsteiner in 1901, ABO typing, had established the theoretical basis for compatible transfusion. The challenge during the war was collecting, storing and transporting blood to wounded soldiers at scale.
Captain Oswald Robertson of the US Army Medical Corps established the first blood bank in 1917, storing blood in glass bottles with sodium citrate as an anticoagulant and using ice to preserve it. This innovation, developed partly in collaboration with British military surgeons, allowed blood to be stored and used hours or days after collection rather than requiring immediate donor-to-patient transfusion. The survival of thousands of wounded soldiers during the war years was substantially improved by these advances.
The interwar years and civilian blood services
After the First World War, Britain moved quickly to establish civilian transfusion infrastructure. The British Red Cross created the first civilian blood transfusion service in London in 1921. Percy Lane Oliver, a Red Cross volunteer worker, established the first organised panel of voluntary blood donors in 1922. Oliver's system, known as the Greater London Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, recruited volunteers who could be called at short notice to donate for individual patients.
Oliver's insistence on voluntary unpaid donation was foundational and deliberate. He believed strongly that payment would corrupt the altruistic motivation that made voluntary donors safer. His principle, established in London in the 1920s, became the basis for the UK's national policy and has remained unchanged for over a century.
The Second World War and the national service
The Second World War created demand for blood at a scale that individual city-based services could not meet. The Emergency Blood Transfusion Service was established in 1938 in preparation for anticipated civilian casualties and military needs. Blood collection depots were set up across the country and the service operated continuously through the Blitz and the broader war effort.
By the end of the war, the UK had developed extensive expertise in collection, storage, typing and distribution of blood. The scientific advances made under wartime necessity, including improved anticoagulants, better storage techniques and more reliable ABO and Rh typing, laid the groundwork for peacetime civilian services.
The NHS and the National Blood Transfusion Service
The National Health Service was established in 1948 and with it the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) became a fully integrated part of the new health system. The NBTS consolidated the regional wartime services into a national network, standardised collection and testing procedures, and extended voluntary donation to communities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The post-war decades saw major advances in blood safety. Hepatitis B testing was introduced in the 1970s following evidence that transfusion-transmitted hepatitis B was a significant clinical problem. HIV testing was introduced in 1985 following the emergence of the AIDS crisis. Hepatitis C testing followed in 1991. Each new test required the service to defer donors who had previously been eligible, adjusting the eligible donor pool in the interest of recipient safety.
NHS Blood and Transplant and the modern era
In 2005, the National Blood Authority and UK Transplant merged to form NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), reflecting the growing integration of blood donation with organ and tissue donation services. NHSBT is responsible for blood donation across England, working in partnership with the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Welsh Blood Service and Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service.
The modern era has seen the introduction of nucleic acid testing for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, which dramatically shortened the infection detection window periods and improved blood safety further. The 2021 policy change removing blanket restrictions on men who have sex with men represented the most significant eligibility revision in decades. Digital registration, app-based booking and real-time inventory management now support a service that collects over one million units of blood per year in England alone.
Ready to donate
Be part of a century-old tradition
Every donor who gives blood today is part of a lineage stretching back to the first voluntary donation panels of the 1920s. Register at blood.co.uk and add your contribution to this history.
The evolution of blood safety
Key safety milestones that shaped modern donation
The history of blood donation is also a history of improving safety. These milestones represent the most significant advances in protecting both donors and recipients.
- 1901: ABO blood group discovery. Karl Landsteiner's identification of blood groups made compatible transfusion scientifically possible and ended the era of unpredictable fatal reactions from incompatible blood.
- 1914 to 1917: sodium citrate anticoagulation and blood storage. The ability to store blood outside the body for hours and days transformed transfusion from an immediate bedside procedure into a scalable clinical service.
- 1970s: hepatitis B testing introduced. Routine testing of all donations for hepatitis B surface antigen significantly reduced transfusion-transmitted hepatitis B infection in recipients.
- 1985 and 1991: HIV and hepatitis C testing introduced. The HIV crisis of the 1980s accelerated the introduction of mandatory HIV testing in 1985. Hepatitis C testing followed in 1991 after the virus was identified in 1989.
The history of blood donation in the UK is one of scientific ingenuity, wartime necessity, public-spirited voluntarism and continuous improvement in safety and inclusivity. Every donor today inherits and continues a tradition that has saved millions of lives over a century.
Our Why blood donation is vital to the NHS guide covers the current state of demand and why voluntary donors remain essential.
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Keep reading
The NHS blood supply and why it matters
Why blood donation is vital to the NHS covers the scale of current demand. What happens to your blood after you donate covers the modern processing and distribution system. And Do you get paid for giving blood covers the voluntary model and why it matters.
Frequently asked
History of blood donation questions
When did blood donation start in the UK?
The first organised voluntary blood donor panel in the UK was established by Percy Lane Oliver in London in 1922. The National Blood Transfusion Service was established in 1948 as part of the new NHS.
Who performed the first blood transfusion in the UK?
James Blundell, a London obstetrician, performed the first recorded successful human-to-human blood transfusion in 1818, primarily to treat postpartum haemorrhage.
When was the NHS Blood and Transplant service created?
NHS Blood and Transplant was formed in 2005 through the merger of the National Blood Authority and UK Transplant.
When did the UK introduce HIV testing for blood donations?
HIV testing of all blood donations was introduced in the UK in 1985, following the emergence of the AIDS crisis. Hepatitis C testing was introduced in 1991.
Why does the UK use voluntary unpaid donors?
The voluntary model was established by Percy Lane Oliver in the 1920s on the principle that unpaid donors disclose their health history more honestly, producing a safer blood supply. Decades of evidence have confirmed this. The WHO recommends voluntary unpaid donation as the safest global model.
How many blood donations does the NHS collect per year?
NHS Blood and Transplant collects over one million units of blood per year in England alone. Combined with the devolved services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the total UK collection is substantially higher.