NHS hospital appeals to staff for blood donations after cyber attack delays

Following a cyber attack last week on Synnovis, the pathology partner of a number of NHS hospitals in London, hospitals are still struggling to return to their usual services with blood tests and matching particularly hampered.

As a result, NHS Blood and Transplant issued an urgent appeal earlier this week for people with type O blood to donate, even allowing them to make emergency appointments at donation centers to help keep up with hospital demand while I can’t. to match blood with recipients at the same speed as usual.

This morning, Bloomberg News reported that an internal memo was sent to King’s College Hospital calling for staff at the hospital who have type O blood to donate.

In response to the report, a hospital spokesman said: “Like all hospitals, we support NHS Blood and Transplant’s campaign to encourage people with blood type O (both positive and negative) to make appointments and donate. We encourage staff to do the same if they wish.”

The June 4 ransomware attack affected London hospitals with some procedures being postponed, rescheduled, canceled or moved to other hospitals that are not affected. Fortune reported that some NHS hospitals resorted to handwritten records after that.

O-negative blood can be received by any other blood type, while O-positive blood can be received by a large majority of the population, making it highly sought after in this situation where blood matching services have were prevented. In an update published yesterday, King’s College Hospital apologized to patients who were affected but assured that other areas of the hospital, such as the Emergency Department and maternity services, were “operating as normal”.

The update highlighted: “It is important that you attend meetings unless we contact you directly. If you have any questions about how your care may be affected, please contact the clinical department or the clinician responsible for your care.”