Our charity has negotiated special arrangements for people with genetic haemochromatosis to donate blood during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Over the past few weeks, Haemochromatosis UK has been lobbying NHS BT behind-the-scenes to relax their donation criteria during Covid-19 lockdown. This is response to members’ concerns about cancelled venesections and our community’s strong desire to help the national effort in defeating the virus.  

From Friday 8th May 2020, people with genetic haemochromatosis in England will be able to register as blood donors with relaxed registration requirements :

• All haemochromatosis donors will now have ring-fenced slots for blood donation. These slots are not available to other donors.
• NHS BT will make every effort to accommodate haemochromatosis donors at their usual or nearest donation centres. However, thenumbers of ring-fenced slots will be fixed, so some donors will have to accept the next available appointment or attend another centre within the locality.
• Anyone wishing to register as a donor or book a ring-fenced appointment must ring the national helpline on 0300 123 23 23. This is the only way to get an appointment if you have haemochromatosis during the Covid-19 outbreak.

For further details, check out our guidance here.