Changes are being made to the island’s Blood Donor Service.

There is an abundance of donors who have blood of group A-positive and group B-positive, ensuring an ample supple of these types of blood.

In future, new donors are likely to have a small sample of blood taken to determine their blood type, so that the Blood Donor Service can contact individuals when their specific type is needed.

Steve Doyle, pathology manager at Noble’s Hospital, said: ’It is a remarkable achievement for a blood donation service to say it needs fewer donations. We are certainly bucking the trend seen in the UK where there can often be shortages.

’We are grateful to everyone who donates. Some blood types are rarer than others, such as those in group O-negative that we often have to buy from the UK at considerable expense, so we want to be clear that we do still need new donors to come forward.

’In future, however, we will more closely match donation sessions and the people we approach to the demand for different blood types on the Island. Collecting blood is time consuming and expensive, plus we can only keep donations for 35 days before they expire.’

When anyone is called to a donor session it means their blood type is definitely needed and they are asked they should always attend.