The supply of blood in England and Wales and the United States

This chapter assesses the supply of blood in England and Wales and the United States. It presents the main national statistics in the increase in blood donation between the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948 and 1968. Whereas in some countries at the end of the 1940s blood transfusion services were in an early stage of development, in England and Wales they had been expanded earlier. The effects of the Second World War, particularly the large quantities of blood required to deal adequately with the expected and actual civilian air raid casualties, greatly stimulated the growth of a blood transfusion service on a national scale. Unfortunately, it is not possible to present any series of statistics for the United States similar to those provided for England and Wales. It is not even possible to estimate with any degree of precision the total annual volume of blood collections, transfusions, and wastage.

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