Frequently asked questions

The NHSBT Charity is one of over 220 NHS charities. NHS charities support NHS services across the UK.

NHS charities support programmes and projects that go over and above what the NHS provides, building on existing services or trialling new treatments and technology.

Whilst NHS Charities differ in size, structure and strategy, with some choosing to focus on investing in infrastructure, and others on different approaches to reducing health inequalities, all aim to improve the health of the communities they serve. All share the goal of improving patient, service-user and staff experience through enhancing care, treatment and support available.

A small charity with a big mission, the NHSBT Charity proudly helps patients, donors and donor families across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is the only UK-wide NHS charity.

Initially registered in 1997, the Charity became NHSBT’s official charity when NHSBT was established in 2005.

In recent years voluntary support for NHSBT has increased, as awareness of the importance of blood, blood products, organ and tissue donation has increased. The NHSBT Board has recently dedicated more time and resource to professionalising and expanding the Charity, giving it greater voice and recognition.

The NHSBT Board has a vision of a world where every patient receives the donation they need.

The Board is also committed to providing a quality service and support for all donors, donor families, patients, staff and stakeholders, including those who wish to give a charitable gift to demonstrate their support for donation and transplantation.

Through funding, the NHSBT Charity can help NHSBT do more for patients, donors and donor families, and by having a dedicated Charity team, supporters will receive a better experience and can become more engaged in NHSBT's work.

NHSBT staff and NHS staff who work closely with NHSBT are the only people that can request funding from the NHSBT Charity. All applicants must follow the Charity's grant application process.

NHSBT puts significant value on the services and support of the partner organisations working to promote and deliver services to help those who rely on blood and organ donations. Similar to the successful Community Grants programme run by NHSBT, the NHSBT Charity extends support for programmes delivered by or in collaboration with partner organisations.

Requests are reviewed by NHSBT staff and specially selected patients, transplant recipients, donor family members and others with a keen interest or expertise in donation and transplantation. Priority requests are funded or selected for future funding.

NHSBT staff can apply for funding NHSBT Charity via the Charity page on the NHSBT intranet page.

If you are an NHS staff member who works closely with NHSBT and you wish to apply for funding, please contact us.

It is possible for an NHSBT staff member to apply for funding on another organisation’s behalf. Organisations that work closely with or have a mission that aligns with NHSBT should liaise with their main point of contact within NHSBT if they are seeking funding.

For more information on the NHSBT application process and the NHSBT Charity's Grants Panel, please contact us.

The NHSBT Charity is funded by philanthropy and charitable contributions. Healthcare services across the UK have been supported in this way since they were first established.

When the National Health Service Act of 1946 transferred most voluntary run hospitals into the new NHS, legislation also allowed for the establishment of charitable funds to support the NHS. These NHS Charities were created alongside the NHS in 1948.

The Health Service Act of 1980 allowed health authorities to fundraise. Since then, NHS Charities, such as the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, have grown into well-known institutions and helped to transform the NHS Trusts they serve into world-leading centres of excellence.

NHS Charities do not replace exchequer funding, instead complementing what ‘core funding’ already does by improving the quality, reach and impact of healthcare services.

NHS Charities are well placed to take decisions on how charitable funding is directed because of the insights they have into patient and service user needs, the feedback on services they can access, and the knowledge and expertise of the NHS staff involved in them.

Money given to and raised for the NHSBT Charity will fund ground-breaking research, new facilities, extra equipment and additional support, training, and education programmes. All these programmes, which go over and above what the NHS already provides, have been selected by NHS staff.

To find out more about supporting the NHS Charity by donating or raising money, please visit our support us page.

The NHSBT Charity follows a Corporate Trustee model, which means NHSBT is the Trustee, and the NHSBT Board is therefore the Charity's Trustee Board.

The Charity Commission has drawn up specific guidance for NHS Charities (NHS charities guidance - GOV.UK) to ensure decisions are made in NHS Charities' best interests, and not in the best interests of the NHS bodies they serve.

In order to ensure there is a clear, open and independent process of decision-making, the NHSBT Board has established the NHSBT Charity Committee, an independent Committee designed to make and monitor arrangements for the control and management of the NHSBT Charity.

Decisions on the Charity’s expenditure are made separately to NHSBT's decisions concerning the use of its exchequer funds.

All members of the NHSBT Charity Committee, and those acting on its behalf, particularly members of the Charity's Grants Panel, are expected to follow the Charity Commission guidance (It’s your decision: charity trustees and decision making (CC27)). All members must act within their powers, in good faith and only in the interests of the Charity, make sure they are sufficiently informed and take account of all relevant factors, and ignore any irrelevant factors and manage conflicts of interest.

The principles the Charity's decision makers adopt when deciding funding and fundraising priorities are:

• Enhancement. Is funding going to improve existing provision, or is it just replacing something already in place?
• Timeliness. Is funding going to allow people to access NHSBT services more promptly, and would patients otherwise be waiting a long time for treatment
• Expectation. Is funding going to address a gap or provide an improvement in service delivery, and would colleagues across the organisation likely consider it a worthy use of charitable funding?

The Charity is registered with the Charity Committee. Its Annual Report and Accounts are available on the NHSBT Charity's Charity Commission webpage.

The Charity's Annual Report and Accounts are available to download here:

• Annual Report and Accounts for the Financial Year Ended 31 March 2021 (PDF 776KB)
• Annual Report and Accounts for the Financial Year Ended 31 March 2020 (PDF 818KB)
• Annual Report and Accounts for the Financial Year Ended 31 March 2019 (PDF 5.8MB)
• Annual Report and Accounts for the Financial Year Ended 31 March 2018 (PDF 5.3MB)
• Annual Report and Accounts for the Financial Year Ended 31 March 2017 (PDF 5.5MB)
• Annual Report and Accounts for the Financial Year Ended 31 March 2016 (PDF 11MB)
• Annual Report and Accounts for the Financial Year Ended 31 March 2015 (PDF 10.2MB)

Stories about the impact of the Charity's funding are regularly shared. Should you have any questions about specific projects funded by the Charity, please contact us.

Supporters are permitted to use the NHSBT Charity's logos to use on 'in aid of' promotional materials. Please complete please contact us to receive the Charity logos.

Supporters are not permitted to use the NHSBT nor the NHS logo on promotional materials.

The Charity does not currently have a work experience programme. If you are seeking opportunities to gain work experience, you may be interested in the NHSBT work experience schemes.

We also would encourage you to organise your own fundraising activity, which will give you valuable experience in project management and marketing, and will help you develop useful skills. If you’d like to organise a fundraiser, please contact us.