New figures released on 10 January 2019 reveal more than twice as many women as men in England became New Year blood donors in 2018.

Figures show that last year 13,719 women who registered last January became blood donors, compared to only 6,092 men 1 despite male donors being more likely to have blood that can be used for some products such as platelets and allogeneic serum drops to treat people with dry eye conditions 2.

Donors of every gender are welcome, and men and women can have the same blood groups. However, men’s blood can contain fewer antibodies against red and white blood cells because women often make these antibodies during pregnancy. This means male blood can be more suitable for creating blood products used to treat patients 3.

Men also generally have higher iron levels than women, so they are less likely to be deferred from donating due to low haemoglobin.

NHS Blood and Transplant has been analysing donor recruitment trends and is now working on reaching more male potential donors. Factors affecting male donor recruitment are thought to include the recent greater use of social media campaigns, which are more popular with women.

Mike Stredder, Director of Blood Donation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “It’s vital that more men start donating blood because their blood is used to provide life-saving products like plasma and platelets – to save victims of burns, car crashes and treat to patients with cancer. Read more via NHS