A major improvement programme around the production of lifesaving blood delivered savings for the NHS of £20 million last year, the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) reported in its annual review.
Improvements in manufacturing and processing have enabled blood to be produced more efficiently leading to a reduction in price per unit from £140 to £130 – the first significant reduction in the price of a unit of blood. NHSBT supplied almost 2,000,000 units of blood to hospitals in England and north Wales in 2009-10. A further reduction in price to £125 for 2010/2011 will allow even more savings (£30 m) to be made and reinvested into frontline patient care. NHSBT also achieved UK-wide changes in organ donation that helped bring about a record number of organ transplants in 2009-10, totalling 3,706 – a 5% increase compared with the previous 12 months.
