The journey of blood

The journey starts even before any of your blood is taken. There are a lot of jobs to carry out behind the scenes before any donors come through the door.

After everything is set up, donors start coming in. Our senior sister, Sylvia, tells us how her typical day looks like and what she enjoys the most about her work at the front line.

Ever wondered what happens to your blood after you have donated? We employ around 250 staff who are working different shifts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, making sure components are available for patients.

When you give blood, we take a little extra for testing later on. It goes into sample tubes which are then tested at our laboratories around the country. 

Using 220 liveried vehicles, driven by 250 drivers working in shifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, NHS Blood and Transplant’s Logistics Department transports everything from blood to biscuits between centres, team bases, session venues, hospitals and research laboratories, all over England.

Here, Fatts Chowdhury, Consultant Haematologist at Imperial College Healthcare Trust and NHS Blood and Transplant, takes us through how blood products are used in hospitals.

Remarkable stories from the world of giving blood – be they from the research lab, the hospital bed, or the donor chair