The ‘It Takes A Village’ campaign continues with Birmingham Blood Drive
Following the hugely successful launch of It Takes A Village at the Brixton Blood Centre, where more than 100 donors attended across two drives resulting in over 300 lives improved or saved, activist, content creator, spoken word artist, comedian and podcast host Adesayo Talabi (Also known as Simply Sayo) is bringing her life-saving campaign to Birmingham.
Sayo will host the next It Takes A Village Blood Drive on Saturday, November 29, from 12.30pm to 4pm at the Birmingham Donor Centre (NHSBT), 65 New Street, Birmingham.
It Takes A Village is a year-long national campaign in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant. Launched during Sickle Cell Awareness Month, the campaign aims to recruit 16,000 new Black heritage blood donors across the UK to help address the urgent need for well-matched blood for people living with sickle cell. The campaign is deeply personal for Sayo, inspired by the loss of her sister Elizabeth to complications from sickle cell and her sister Rebecca’s ongoing experience living with the condition. Through storytelling, community events and blood drives, Sayo is committed to destigmatising blood donation and showing how simple, safe and impactful the process is.
NHSBT Director of Donor Experience Mark Chambers said: “We saw a significant increase in the numbers of Black heritage people registering to become blood donors in September, with Sayo’s It Takes A Village campaign launch contributing to the rise. That month we saw more than 600 registrations from Black donors between the ages of 16 to 34 logged in the first week of September, the highest number in over two years. Sayo and the many others working to boost the number of Black heritage donors should be immensely proud of their achievements.
"Sayo and her amazing mobilisation campaign has raised the profile of the urgent need for more Black heritage blood donors to come forward to help fight sickle cell, and that awareness has been converted into much-needed donations. In her two recent blood drives at the Brixton donor centre more than 100 donors turned out following Sayo’s appeal, which translates to 300 lives improved or saved.”
Black heritage donors are urgently needed because sickle cell is the fastest-growing inherited blood condition in the UK and disproportionately affects people of Black heritage. Many patients require regular blood exchanges and need blood types more commonly found in Black donors. The Ro subtype, which is essential for treating sickle cell, is ten times more common in people of Black heritage, making increased registrations critical.
This Birmingham event is a group booking organised by the African Caribbean Medical Society (ACMS), supporting African and Caribbean students studying medicine and healthcare courses at the University of Birmingham. Students from the African Caribbean Society (ACS), ACMS and ACS at Aston University will attend and support the drive. Sayo will join forces with ACMS and ACS to encourage Black heritage communities in Birmingham to donate blood, continuing her nationwide mission.
To book an appointment for the Birmingham blood drive on 29 November, use Sayo’s dedicated link here.
To register as a donor visit: blood.co.uk. Health and travel eligibility information is available through NHSBT.
