Brighton Blood Donor Centre

14/06/2026

Ever had a nice surprise that made you feel even better about doing something? That's exactly what happened to Liliana! ❤️

Liliana had already donated blood many times when she moved from Portugal to England and discovered she has the Ro subtype.

"That motivates me more and gives me pride and joy," she says.

Liliana's journey to becoming a blood donor started at a young age. As a child, she spent time in hospital with pneumonia — an experience that stayed with her and shaped the person she became.

"I always grew up thinking it is nice to help people," she says.

Liliana gave blood for the first time as a teenager in Portugal. Her thinking was simple: "I'm not afraid of needles, so I thought, 'why not?'" 💉

Now in her 30s and living near Brighton, Liliana loves knowing that she could be helping people with sickle cell every time she donates.

If you start giving blood, you might get a nice surprise too — whether that's having the Ro subtype, being a blood type that's high in demand like O negative, or having NEO blood, which can be safely given to newborns.

Book your donation today and find out!

14/06/2026

07/06/2026

Ryan started donating at our Nottingham Donor Centre when eligibility rules for blood donation changed back in 2021, enabling more people than ever from LGBT+ communities to save lives. He hasn't looked back since.

"When I first heard that the rules were changing, I knew I wanted to start donating.

"Over the past 5 years I've donated at the Nottingham Donor Centre, and have got to know the faces of the friendly team.

"If you've ever thought about donating, and you're able to, it's one short sharp scratch, a lay back in a chair, followed by a snack. It's the easiest way to save up to 3 lives ❤️"

28/05/2026

28/05/2026

👋🏿 Meet Tinashe – an important donor on our books!

Tinashe, from Crawley, thought 'why not?' when he saw a stand promoting blood donation at university.

What he didn't know then was that his blood is extraordinarily rare – and that it would help save the lives of very specific people with sickle cell.

Tinashe is one of only around 1,200 donors on our Rare Donor Panel.

When someone with sickle cell urgently needs blood that matches his very specific blood type, our team calls Tinashe in personally. 📞

You might know about A, B, and O blood types – and the Ro subtype which Tinashe also has - but did you know there are actually more than 40 blood group systems and 300 blood types?

Tinashe's rare status comes down to a blood group system called Kell – specifically, he lacks something called the Jsb antigen, which makes his blood exceptionally valuable for certain patients.

For people needing repeated transfusions, receiving blood closely matched to their own is vital, to reduce the risk of their immune system developing antibodies.

Around half of all special requests to our Rare Donor Team are now to help people with sickle cell, and that need is growing. 📈

People of Black heritage are especially needed, because people are more likely to share rare blood types with donors from the same ethnic background.

"It's such a small thing for me to do, but it could be the difference between someone living and someone dying,” says Tinashe.

“I see the same team every time and now we have a bit of banter. They treat me like royalty!” 👑✨

28/05/2026

🤘 BIG NEWS! We're teaming up with global rock legends Metallica and their charity All Within My Hands Foundation to help save lives this summer.

UK blood services in England, Scotland and Wales are joining forces with Metallica to get music fans rolling up their sleeves. Metal runs through every Metallica fan's veins, and so does blood that could save up to three lives with every donation.

Metallica are calling on their fans to become regular blood donors around their UK tour dates. They're in London on 3 and 5 July.

Metallica have already seen the life-saving difference this campaign can make in the US and Australia - now it's the UK's turn.

We'll be sharing more information soon, so watch this space! 🤘🩸