• 5,000 units of blood is needed daily across the country
• The NHS needs 140,000 new first-time donors each year
• O negative can be used for all blood types and is crucial for emergencies when a person’s blood type is unknown - it accounts for 15% of all hospital orders
• In 1 hour you can save 3 lives

With a critical need to boost blood stocks, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is urging more companies to do the same and help save more lives this winter.

A new survey of more than 3,000 blood donors, carried out by NHSBT, shows 43 per cent of donors would be more likely to donate blood if given time off to do so by their employer. This rises to 65 per cent for those aged between 25 to 44.

Other businesses are encouraged to join this initiative and support the NHS by encouraging staff to become blood donors and adopting the 'Donate Breaks' initiative. #GiveBlood #DonateBreaks