In Chapter 1, national statistics were provided showing the number of blood donors, donations and issues of blood for the years 1946-68. In this appendix we give more detailed information derived from a special regional analysis of the monthly returns reported by each Regional Transfusion Centre to the headquarters of the National Blood Transfusion Service at the Department of Health and Social Security. The returns were kindly provided for analysis by the Department.

The areas served by these Centres correspond to the areas of the Regional Hospital Boards except for the fact that two Centres serve the four Metropolitan Board areas and, since April 1, 1959, the area of the Wessex Hospital Board formerly included in the area of the S.W. Metropolitan Board.1 The Centres, controlled by Medical Directors, are administered on behalf of the Department by the Regional Hospital Boards. The Medical Research Council Blood Group Reference Laboratory and Blood Products Laboratory are administered for the Department by the Medical Research Council, and in the case of the latter administration is delegated by the Medical Research Council to the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine. The function of the first is the holding of stocks of rare sera, the examination of blood samples sent from regional laboratories for the identification of irregular agglutinens and agglutinogens, the distribution to regional centres of grouping sera and the maintenance of a panel of special donors of very rare blood groups. The second is responsible for the preparation of blood products (such as fibrin foam, thrombin, fibrinogen, immunoglobulin and the anti-haemophilic factor), for research into the production and uses of plasma fractions and plasma substitutes and for the operation of the plasma-drying plant.

The Department of Health and Social Security co-ordinates the activities of these Centres and Laboratories and, with the help of two advisory committees, formulates the general policy of the Service. One advisory committee is composed of the medical directors of the fifteen units and the other of the regional donor organizers. Their functions are to help formulate professional, technical and publicity policy, to obtain over-all uniformity of procedures, methods and equipment and to establish minimum standards: e.g. for the medical examination of blood donors and certain serological procedures.