Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

Adults more likely to know lyrics from Bohemian Rhapsody than their own blood type

Research reveals the random details we know compared to essential personal information
Only one in four young adults know their blood type – fewer than those who know their pet’s birthday or One Direction’s first band member departure
People in Plymouth and Milton Keynes least likely to know their blood type, Brighton the most likely
One in three people will only discover their blood type when they donate

Friday 12 June 2015: This year, to mark World Blood Donor Day (Sunday 14 June), new research* by NHS Blood and Transplant has revealed we are more likely to know the lyrics to the Queen song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ than our own blood type.

World Blood Donor Day is one of the six official international health days sanctioned by the United Nations and administered by the World Health Organisation. It creates awareness around the world for altruistic blood donation.

Just 46% of English adults surveyed on behalf of NHS Blood and Transplant know their blood type, a piece of personal information made from the letters A, O or B. By comparison we are more likely to be able to recall:

The lyrics from Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – 51%
Our bank account sort code – 48%
Our partner’s favourite sauce with chips – 43%
The identity of Luke Skywalker’s father – 41%

The survey’s results have been released to encourage people to register as blood donors and to start donating in future. NHS Blood and Transplant needs to collect more than 6,000 donations every day across England and North Wales. Current donors and stocks are meeting the immediate needs of patients. The challenge is to ensure a sufficient supply of blood for the future. More new donors are needed to reverse a 10-year decline in new volunteers coming forward.

How people find out their blood type

Over one in three (34%) responding adults in England who know their type only did so after they donated blood for the first time.

Young UK adults

Young adults across the UK aged 18-24 are the least likely age group to know their blood group, with less than one in four (24%) knowing it. That’s compared to them knowing, from memory, that Zayn Malik was the first person to leave One Direction (66%), the identity of Luke Skywalker’s father (44%) and the birthday of a current or past pet (28%).

How the cities compare

The research also revealed that of adults questioned across England**, those in Brighton (57%), London (53%) and Southampton (50%) were most likely to know their blood group, compared to Bristol (37%), Leeds (36%), Plymouth (35%) Milton Keynes (35%) as the least likely.

Across the nation, 120,000 fewer people attended a donor session to start donating blood in 2014/15 compared to 2004/5. Regular donations are crucial to saving and improving the lives of patients with cancer, blood disorders and those suffering medical trauma or undergoing surgery. In 2015, 204,000 new volunteers need to attend a session to donate to ensure that the nation’s blood stocks continue to remain at a safe level in the future and that people’s lives are saved.

In England, World Blood Donor Day is the climax of National Blood Week (June 8 -14). Over the last week, NHS Blood and Transplant has been drawing attention to the need for more people to sign up as blood donors through its ‘Missing Type’ campaign. Retailers and brands***, such as O2, Waterstones, Odeon, NOW TV, Not On The High Street, Green & Black’s Organic, Nando’s, Downing Street, British Gas, Santander, GAME, Heathrow and Aunt Bessie’s, as well as well-known personalities such as Gemma Styles and Jamie Oliver have got on board. They have been removing the letters A, O and B (the letters that make up the blood groups) from their names to highlight that if not enough new people come forward to donate blood and these ‘types’ were to go missing in years to come, there wouldn’t be enough blood available when patients need it.

While it’s not necessary to know your blood type before giving blood, NHS Blood and Transplant has been holding a number of ‘Know Your Group’ events around the country. These events give people the chance to find out their likely blood group through a simple on the spot sample, as well as an opportunity to find out more about blood donation and to sign up to donate.

Jon Latham, Assistant Director for Donor Services and Marketing at NHS Blood and Transplant, says: “What blood group you are may not be important to you, or something you even know, but for us and for patients, blood groups are vital. It is always safest and preferable to give the same blood group to patients.

"You could be the key to saving or improving lives and each time you donate, you could help up to three people in just one hour. Giving blood is an amazing thing to do.

“We’re always grateful to people who already give blood, but we want to remind others of our need for new donors. Now it’s time for you to show your support by registering to donate blood. You don’t need to know your blood group when you start donating or book your first appointment. Do something amazing, register to become a blood donor now.”

There are a number of ways you can support World Blood Donor Day and the Missing Type campaign:

If you are 17 or over, visit www.blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23 today to find out if you are eligible to donate, register as a blood donor and to book your appointment
Download our app by searching ‘NHSGiveBlood’ in the App store. It’s available for Android, Windows and Apple Smartphone and tablet devices
Show your support for blood donation on social media on World Blood Donor Day by posting about blood donation and removing the As, Os and Bs from your name on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and use #missingtype
Twitter @givebloodnhs #missingtype
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/givebloodnhs/
Instagram @GivebloodNHS
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/NHSGiveBlood

For more information please contact:

BloodEngine@enginegroup.com / 020 3128 8545

-ENDS-

*Research conducted by Populus, May 2015, in a survey of 2,012UK representative adults. The figures and percentages given in the media outreach relate to the responses from people living in England. There were 1,730 respondents in England.

**The cities provided were those respondents live in, or nearest to – please note low base sizes of less than 100

*** By Wednesday evening, more than 600 companies had publicly shown their support for the campaign. These include …

Waterstones	Hollow Legs (blog)	Women’s Cricket Blog
Odeon	The Crafty Calf	Fire & Earth
Now TV	GOSH Scouts and Guides	Triaster
Not on the High Street	London Ambulance	Transport for London
Green & Blacks	Royal College ObsGyn	Robertson
Lincoln Film and Media	NHS Choices	Croxley Baptist
eMoov.co.uk	Pot Noodle	Steri Touch
GAME	H20 Creative	Bath College Student Union
Shree Swaminarayan Mandir Kingsbury	Midland Movies	Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Monkey Wellbeing	My All Search	Portsmouth College
Student Pulse London	WeDocs
One Stop Scouting Ltd	Concierge Medic	Oasis Lord’s Hill
Stone Working Tools	The Travelling Souk	Mothercare
MRB Design	Fylde and Wyre CCG	Knight Frank Sussex
Stamford Website	Register and Be	Acute Training
Walk in Foot Clinic	Citypress Birmingham	Danshell Group
GCS	Plum	Talk to TIM
Vegetarian Society	N2O Brand Activation	Tilda
Perfect Circle Media		Aventa Plumbling and Heating
The Maltings Studio		Just Add Salt
SEO and Marketing Worm	Rita Sen Solicitors	Very.co.uk
Inbound SEO	Target	Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service
Santander	Casa Security	Birkenhead Sixth Form
Men's Health Forum	Impatient NHS	Fleet Honda
Golden Wonder	More than Blended	London's Air Ambulance
Venture Thinking	EN Herts CCG	Royal Cornwall Hospital
RPM Ltd	University of Central Lancs	The Football League
Founded London	Showforce	Church of England
Diva Creative	Helpings	Anglia Ruskin SU
Media Comm North	Runescape	Nando's
EBPCOOH	Fairstead House School	Smedson
Nottingham City Transport	Challoners	Meantime Brewing
St John's Ambulance	Grayling North	Morecrofts
Oystercatchers	Endeavour Explorers	Warmup UK
Rise Festival	Quietroom	Post Twit Notes
ACLT Charity	Santander	Communicate PLC
Rooftop Film Club	Putnams	Garmin
Bilborough College	South Yorks Housing Association	Staysure
NHS Chorley Comissioning Group	Umega Lettings	Evangelical Alliance
NHS Greater Preston	OSFC	Better Bathrooms
NHS Flyde and Wyre CCG	Monkey Well Being	Health Diagnostics
BME Health and Wellbeing	Hogrefe Ltd	DLKW Lowe
Punktuate! London	Inside Media PR	Publicis Life Brands Resolute
Conciege Medical	ABD.co.uk	Drink Aware
NHS Banes CCG	DropCap Copywriting	Humberside Fire
Jewish Museum London	Mid-Cheshire Hospitals	Being Well Salford
Cadbury College	Queen Victoria Hospital	Healthwatch Cambs
Department of Health	Radio Sonar	The Blood Bag Project
Cambridge IVF	DV8 Media	West Yorkshire Police
Parent's Guide	Anglia Ruskin Students Union	Cromwell Medical
Kanso	UCLan	UB41 BirmingJAM
AO.com	VoiceAbility	CurriesRedKola
SESSP CCG	Jewish Museum London	Edinburgh Marriott Hotel
SHSC	1st Central Insurance	London Ambulance
Only Marketing	Judge and Howard	Saint Francis Hospice
Speaking of Research	Lincolnshire HC	Manchester Medical Services
Sickle Cell Society	NHS Glos CCG	Do Something UK
Safer Solihull	Sheffield Hospitals Charity	British Gas
NHS Alliance	One Player Down	Giraffe Restaurant
Salix & Co	My Health Group	Columbia Surgery
HHS Sixth Form	Aberystwyth Students Union	Visual Studio UK
Herts Valley CCG	CP Nursing	O2 in the UK
Stavely Head	Bespoke PR	Powell and Co
British Science	Plaster	Heathrow Airport
Cream Consultancy	Typaprint (NOTHS)	Yazoo Drinks
Health Trainers	The Wool Shop	St John Ambulance
The Booking Live Team	Black Belt Creative	Dove UK
RONIN Marketing	Print Bureau Team	East of England Ambulance Service
Rosie Hospital	LPW Technology	Hinchingbrooke Health Care
CUH Nursing	Superdream	Tupe Map London
Addenbrookes	Slice	Sony Xperia GB
Amos and Tom's	King's College NHS	Tottenham Hotspur
Well Pharmacy	Barrow Sixth Form	Peninsula Community Health
Tickedy Boom Games	Molesley Boat Club	We Are Social
NHS Southend CCG	Trident Media	Dark Star Brewing
Hills Design	Essex SU	Twogether
Daventry Town Council	Rock Corps	Tameside Council
Thurrock CCG	ACLT Charity	Borough of Poole
Little Moppets	Fife Sports and Leisure	IT Schools Africa
Fow Film Society	Rotherham NHS Trust	Little Party Pack
Phlebotomy Training	Gold Diggers	Calling Brands
MND South London	MHD Graphic Design	Littlewoods
We are FLOCK	61st Cardiff Scout Group	Brand and Deliver
Wellcome Trust	Two Little Bees	Lincolnshire Bombers
Treated.com	West Yorkshire Police	Dacorum Heritage Trust
Contract Hire and Learning	BAA Apparel	South Yorkshire Fire
Brownlee Tri	Different Kettle	Public Health England
Worcestershire Acute	Get Reading	Bearwood SNT
Manchester NHS CATS	Toolkit websites	University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
Take Note LTD	TIG	Crossrail Project
Arden at Crown Woods	Energy PR	Aberdeen Marriott Hotel
Ashford Astro Society	Independents United	Aunt Bessie's
BD Medical Training	Learning Zone	Gist
Wolves TKD	24 Marketing	Suth Comms
Crawford and Jones Ltd	Look Touch and Feel	Nomad Cinema
Dudley CCG	Tattoo Deals UK	Fourteen People
Carwarden House	Butterfly London	Attain Design
Sheffield Hospital Charity	Royal Free London	Crossley Heath Maths Department
Casa Security	WLMHT Liaison Pysch	The Eco PR Agency
Sussex Central RPU	Clearbox Comms	Threepipe
The AHCM	BOSCH DIY and Garden	Thames Valley Police
NHS Comms Org	Carousel PR	Labcold
Open Gardens	Vapiano	Retox Digital
Michael House	PHRC Leeds	Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust
Orka Marketing	Proman Healthcare	Richmond Towers
Wilkie May and Tuckwood	Crocus	Salix & Co
The Storyhouse (NOTHS)	400 Communications	Numiko
Family Music Sales	Brilliant Social Media	Slickshoot
Holy Cross Theology	Preston City Council	Alcohol Concern
Birkenhead Sixth Form	Forfusion	Satellite PR
Gendall Design	Harvester Restaurant	PC Valet Ltd
Brand 8 PR	Trident Media	Health Communications
Gego Facts	Bulletproof	Voluntary Action Calderdale
GAME Hamleys	Smith & Milton	Salford Sea Cadets
Goodstuff	NHS Guildford and Waverley CCG	Crocus
Wordplay Design	Shoot the moon	400 Communications
Trapeze Group UK	Cogent Elliott	Brilliant Social Media
Your World Healthcare	Bray Leino	Preston City Council
UCLan Health	EC Recruitment Team	Forfusion
Output magazine	Splash Worldwide	Harvester Restaurant
Common Time	Royal Liverpool University Hospital	Trident Media
Hollywood Pharmacy	Vibe Concepts	Bulletproof
Genesis PR	Serving Humanity	Smith & Milton
Derby Hospitals NHS	Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust	NHS Guildford and Waverley CCG
Pelican Rouge	Wagamama UK	Shoot the moon
Archers	Liverpool Marriott Hotel City Centre	Cogent Elliott
Signs Express Stockport	Escrivo	Bray Leino
Boxed Red	Stoke-on-Trent City Council	Slickshoot
Go Cotswolds	Silversurfers	Alcohol Concern
Bowel and Cancer Research	Phoenix Adam Ltd	Satellite PR
Collegiate Medical	OS Leisure	Blonde
Central Bedfordshire Highways	Steps Training Ltd	TRAC Services
Ash Communications	Open House Products	We Love Digital
Huddersfield Business School	Living Beyond Diagnosis	Pink and Blues
Stokes & Moncreiff	Chief PR	Vale of York CCG
Media Octopus	Gasp	Bounts
Berkeley PR	Alderley Edge School For Girls	Whitfield Biz Hub
Crimson Cat	Medibroker	East Kent Hospitals
Citizens Advice Bolton	Applecado	East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
Jeff Harris and Associates	Personalised Gifts	Chapman+co
Asabell	Mark Marking	nPower
Havas Lynx Europe	North Lancs Stop Smoking Service	Onyx Communications
MHS Homes	The Dart Dash	Very Helpers
Sharp Agency	Oldham Sixth Form College	Onelan Ltd
Skyjack Inc	Your Croydon	Essex SU
Scarlett & Mustard	Harrow Community First Responders	Colourful
Corporate Creations	Woodreed	Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
Tractor Outdoor	Kick Start Cancer Support	Curzon Creative
The Social Programme	Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group	Zein Marketing
Kilpatrick PR	Arbuthnot Latham	Bescot Banter
PLBR	Earthmill	DT&G Limited
Northampton General Hospital	Mortgage Brain	Salford Fire Team
Parkside Hospital	Paradigm Mortgage Services	Waterline Limited
Magnifica	Paradigm Protect	Feeling Fab
Physio Med	Healthwatch Trafford	Old Cinema
Skipton BS	Health Diagnostics	Hernshalls Insurance
Astrid & Miyu	Avon Valley A&W Park	Leeds Beckett Library
Your Heathrow	Qton Solutions	Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association
The Industry Club	LUMiLife LEDs	Jacob's Leg it 10K
Imperial College's Pre-hospital & Emergency Medicine Society	Share Your Job	R&Be
Bpositive	Healthy Brum	National Locums
The Monopolys	Evangelical Alliance	YHA England & Wales
Insurance Octopus	Liberty Apps	AAGBI
DF London	Blue Jeans EME	Double S
NHS Wakefield CCG	Lee Jeans
Steel London
BI WORLDWIDE EMEA
Health Care People
H4B Europe

About NHS Blood and Transplant:

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is a joint England and Wales Special Health Authority. Its remit includes the provision of a reliable, efficient supply of blood and associated services to the NHS in England and North Wales. It is also the organ donor organisation for the UK and is responsible for matching and allocating donated organs

Donors can search for sessions, change their contact details, book appointments and change/cancel their appointments in real time on www.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 your location, book and manage appointments.
NHSBT’s donor line - 0300 123 23 23 -is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week with all calls charged at the standard local rate, even from mobile phones
NHSBT collects 1.7 million units of blood each year from over 23,000 blood donation sessions in more than 3,000 venues
Only four per cent of the eligible population are active blood donors
A unit of blood is measured as 470mls (or just under a pint)
There are four main blood groups – O, A, B and AB. A regular supply of all blood groups is vital – red cells last 35 days and platelets only 7 days.
Maintaining a regular supply of group O Rh Negative is particularly important to respond to patient need.