Make a #Date2Donate in 2018 to give blood

NHS Blood and Transplant has teamed up with some familiar faces from the world of entertainment, to create a series of videos sharing their experiences of giving blood and to encourage friends, family and loved ones to come together on a regular basis and make a difference through giving blood.

The video series captures the energy of the people that donate and offers glimpses into the donation process - an altruistic yet often daunting and misunderstood act.

Kicking off, on Monday 15 January is the first of a series of Date2Donate video clips that will roll out through out 2018. You can see BBC Radio 1Xtra and CBBC’s ‘Saturday Mash-Up’ presenter - Yasmin Evans, one half of pop duo Rizzle Kicks - Jordan Stevens and Remel London, Capital Xtra presenter and MOBO Awards Red Carpet host, making a Date2Donate. 

Watch the clip here where they share their reasons for donating blood, ad lib a track to encourage blood donation - a possible contender to take on Big Shaq’s ‘Man’s Not Hot’ - and give their ones to watch tips for up and coming musicians in 2018.

• On 18 January watch The Mac Twins - Lisa and Alana Macfarlane are identical twin DJ’s, who most recently were DJ’s on the hit show Love Island’s spin - off After Sun and recently performed at Simon Cowell’s Annual Midsummer Ball.
• On 25 January watch Kelechi and Cassandra - Kelechi is afitness guru, personal trainer, womanist, twerk innovator, pole dance instructor and Cassandra Lokko is a social media influencer who went viral in 2016 with her breath-taking wedding video.

•  On 1 February watch Andi and Miquita Oliver - Andi is the host of BBC’s Great British menu and her daughter Miquita is a TV presenter, who co-hosted Channel 4’s popular ‘Popworld’.
• On 8 February watch Jeff and Katy - Katy and Jeff Hammond are a British couple that went viral in 2016 after performing an African – influenced dance at their wedding.
• On 14 February watch Amelia and Cadet - Amelia is the host of the popular ‘Chicken Shop Date’ and rapper Cadet is the cousin of Krept – of Krept and Konan.

To watch all the videos as they go live click here:

www.blood.co.uk/d2d

IT ONLY TAKES 1 HOUR TO SAVE 3 LIVES

MAKE A #DATE2DONATE

Nadine Eaton from NHSBT said:

 “We are asking young people to make blood donation part of their regular routine, something that they have reoccurring in their diaries. Save a life by going about yours. Make a regular Date2Donate in 2018.

 “Less than a quarter (23.7%) of those who gave blood last year were younger than 30 years old, so we particularly hope these videos appeal to this age group.  Giving blood only takes about an hour but can save three lives.”

For information contact:

Lorraine Long

E: lorraine@charmfactory.co.uk
T: 07792643575

Notes to editors

NHS Blood and Transplant

• To register or book an appointment visit blood.co.uk, call 0300 123 23 23 or search for ‘NHS Give Blood’ app.”
• In general, as long as you are fit and healthy, weigh over 7 stone 12lbs (50kg) and are aged between 17 and 66 (up to 70 if you have given blood before) you should be able to give blood. If you are over 70, you need to have given blood in the last two years to continue donating.
• NHS Blood and Transplant is responsible for ensuring a safe and efficient supply of blood and associated services to the NHS in England. We are also the organ donationorganisationfor the UK and are responsible for matching and allocating donated organs.
• Our work would not be possible without our donors - ordinary people doing extraordinary things by saving and improving the lives of others. 
• Blood donors can search for sessions, book appointments, change/cancel their appointments and change their contact details in real time at blood.co.uk
• There are apps available for Android, Windows and Apple Smartphone and tablet devices which enable donors to search for sessions based on their location and book and manage appointments. 
• Our donor line - 0300 123 23 - is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week with all calls charged at the standard local rate, even from mobile phones 
• NHS Blood and Transplant needs to collect 1.5 million units of blood each year to meet the needs of patients across England. It’s important that we collect the right amount of each blood group at the right time to meet patient needs.  
• There are four main blood groups – O, A, B and AB. Group O is the most common and therefore the most in demand. A regular supply of blood is vital – red cells last 35 days and platelets only 7days
• The overall demand for blood is falling by 3-4% per year.  This is due to improvements in clinical practice and is a trend that is being seen around the world. The drop in demand for blood is also thanks to our work with hospitals to ensure blood is used appropriately for patients.
• We need just under 200,000 new blood donors each year to replace those who no longer donate for reasons such as ill health, pregnancy or foreign travel and to ensure we have the right mix of blood groups to match patient needs in the future 
• Some blood groups, such as O negative (the universal blood group); A negative and B negative are particularly vulnerable to shortfalls. So, we want people with those blood groups to donate as regularly as they can.  We also need more black African, black Caribbean, mixed race and South Asian people to become blood donors to reflect the ethnic diversity of patients
• Female whole blood donors can give blood every 16 weeks, while male blood donors must wait 12 weeks between donations. Platelets can be donated every 2 weeks.

Sickle cell disease is a serious condition which affects the blood and various organs within the body, causing extreme pain, life threatening infections and other complications such as stroke or loss of vision. Blood transfusions can help prevent or relieve these symptoms. 

Yasmin Evans 

Presenter of BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Weekdays 1-4pm show. Stockport born Yasmin began her radio career at the age of just 15. She studied Radio BA (Hons) at the University of Salford where she was approached by the BBC to take part in their piloting scheme, which led her to be offered the 1XTRA Weekend Breakfast show in September ‘12. After being on air for just 9 months, she landed the 1Xtra Weekday Breakfast Show which she co-hosted with Twin B from July ‘13 for three years. In July 2016, Yasmin was given her own 1-4pm solo show on 1Xtra weekdays. In the same year, she was nominated for Radio Personality at the Glamour Woman Of The Year Awards amongst other credible female radio broadcasters. During her time at the BBC Yasmin has hosted a range of BBC events including 1Xtra’s Live’s coverage on the BBC Red Button and online content as well as presenting Radio 1’s Big Weekend Backstage. She is the voice of CBBC’s ‘Ice Stars’ a documentary series currently on its third run. She also hosts VEVO UK online programming and is the face of their Music Videos In Real Life, VVV & Ones To Watch. In Summer 2017, Yasmin was announced as one of the co-hosts of ‘Saturday Mash Up’, CBBC’s new Saturday morning format.

In 2015, Yasmin teamed up with Comic Relief travelling to Uganda with Operation Health to bring aid and awareness by building a Health Center alongside Greg James and Lenny Henry and raising 1 Million for Comic Relief. As an advocate in improving the lives and education of young people, Yasmin has played an influential role in the BBC’s Apprenticeship scheme & The BBC Outreach team since 2012; talking nationwide to young individuals about her career journey. She also hosted WE DAY UK at Wembley Arena since 2015, a live event showcasing the importance of young individuals around the World sponsored by Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic. Yasmin supports a number of other charities including The Duke of Edinburgh Award, Samaritans, NSPCC and Sports Relief.

Jordan Stephens is a writer and performer best known for being one half of pop duo Rizzle Kicks. After achieving fame with Rizzle Kicks at only 19, Jordan has since gone on to create a quite contrasting sound as a third of the band, Wildhood and now goes under the alias ‘Al, the Native’. Having been publicly open with his own struggles surrounding mental health, Jordan has also been very active in creating awareness around the stigma attached to it and helping young people to open up about how they feel. His mental health campaign #IAMWHOLE reached over 120 million people online and made enough of an impact to be mentioned in the Houses of Parliament. More recently, Jordan wrote an article in The Guardian about the negative effects that Toxic Masculinity has on men’s wellbeing and has since been invited on television and at festivals to further discuss the matter. 

Remel London

TV and radio personality Remel London is making waves in the industry after landing her new weekend show on CAPITAL XTRA. Since graduating in Broadcast Journalism in 2010, Remel has already worked as a lead presenter on SKY 1’s What’s Up TV, Link Up TV, ILUVLIVE, Channel AKA and a host of mainstream TV networks. With regular slots on BBC Radio 1Xtra – showcasing her knowledge and passion for the urban music scene – Remel was soon added as a member of the MOBO Awards panel in 2013, later becoming the official Red Carpet Host for the brand.