The NHS Blood and Transplant service is urging people to save lives after figures show donors have dropped by nearly 25 per cent. The service is uniting with 21 countries to highlight an international drop in people becoming blood donors.

Mike Stredder, director of blood donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, the service that collects, tests and processes blood for hospitals across England, said: “Blood donation is an amazing gift and transfusions save lives in Cambridgeshire every day.

“Whether it is patients receiving treatment for cancer, blood disorders, after accidents or during surgery, or new mums who lost blood in childbirth, blood is an absolutely essential part of modern health care.

“Thanks to the generosity of our current donors, hospitals have the blood needed to treat patients and there is not a crisis in blood stocks. “Despite overall blood use in hospitals declining, we need more young donors to safeguard blood donation for future generations. And it’s vital the blood donor community reflects the diversity of the population because blood types vary across communities and patients need well-matched blood.”

Throughout the campaign As, Bs and Os - the letters of the main blood groups - are disappearing in everyday and iconic locations around the globe including America, Australia, Japan and Ireland.

In Cambridgeshire, key campaign supporters include Cambridge University and Cambridge FC.

“Half of all donors in England are over 45 so it’s important we recruit younger people to donate blood to help meet patient needs now and in the future,” Mr Stredder said.

• Register at www.blood.co.uk.