An amber alert has been issued in Scotland due to a significant drop in blood stocks. The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service has warned hospitals to only use Type O blood when necessary. The alert comes after a 24% drop in blood donors over the past decade, with a particular shortage of younger donors.
Type O blood is crucial for transfusions, with O-negative acting as a universal donor and O-positive being the most common type in the UK. Recently, Group O blood reserves have fallen below two days on several occasions. The SNBTS aims to maintain a 5-7 day supply of all blood groups.
The alert will trigger new protocols in hospitals to minimize non-essential usage of O-type blood, but emergency operations and treatments will continue as normal. The alert will be in effect for an initial period of 4-6 weeks and will be closely monitored.
This summary was written with AI assistance from the original article and may leave out important context. The original reporting belongs to BBC News · Health. Check the original, and official sources, before acting on any detail.