272 donors withdrawn, 110 investigations, zero infections passed on
What happened
On 24 September 2026, the UK Health Security Agency published the latest annual review from the joint NHS Blood and Transplant and UKHSA Epidemiology Unit. This is the yearly stocktake of how safe the UK's blood supply is. It counts how many donors turned out to be carrying an infection, and - the number that really matters - how many patients caught an infection from a transfusion. For 2025, the figures were these. 272 blood donors were withdrawn because tests found markers of infection. The infections covered were HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HTLV and syphilis. "Withdrawn" means they were taken out of the donor pool and offered care. Only one repeat donor showed evidence of a recent infection. A repeat donor is someone who has given blood before and tested clear, so a new infection in that group is the thing surveillance watches most closely. Just one, across the whole country, across a year. The unit estimated the risk of a donation being taken during the "window period" - the short gap after someone catches an infection but before tests can detect it - at roughly one per million whole blood donations. And from 110 investigations into possible transfusion-transmitted infections, there were zero confirmed bacterial or viral transmissions. Zero. For scale, the previous review recorded 1.8 million donations from around 964,000 UK donors in a single year.
Why this matters
Most people never think about blood safety until they or someone they love needs a transfusion. Then it becomes the only thing they think about. Older readers may remember why. The infected blood scandal, in which thousands of people in the UK were given blood products contaminated with HIV and hepatitis C during the 1970s and 1980s, is one of the worst treatment disasters in NHS history. It is still being reckoned with. That history is exactly why these annual numbers are published, and why they are published in this much detail. The system counts everything and shows its working. The second reason this matters is simpler. The UK needs blood donors, and it needs them constantly. Blood does not keep indefinitely. Some people hesitate to donate because they worry about safety - for themselves or for whoever receives it. A year with 110 investigations and zero confirmed transmissions is a straightforward answer to that worry. Not a reassurance from a leaflet, but a counted result.
What the evidence actually says
Let us read the numbers carefully rather than just cheering at them. 272 donors being withdrawn does not mean the system failed. It means the system worked. Those people were identified by testing before their blood could be used, and were then supported to get care they may not have known they needed. Donor screening picks up infections that would otherwise have gone undiagnosed for years. The one repeat donor with a recent infection is the more telling figure. Repeat donors have already tested clear at least once. A new infection in that group tells you something about how often infections are being acquired in a low-risk population, and one case is very low. The window-period estimate of about one per million whole blood donations is a modelled risk, not a count of actual events. It is an estimate of how often an infectious donation could slip through because the infection was too new to detect. It is not zero, and the report does not claim it is. The 110 investigations with zero confirmed transmissions is the outcome measure. When a patient develops an infection after a transfusion, it is investigated to see whether the blood was responsible. In every one of those 110 cases in 2025, it was not. One caution. "Zero confirmed" is not the same as "impossible". Safety here comes from layers - careful donor selection, sensitive testing, and processing - and each layer has limits. The system is extremely safe. It is not magic.
Practical advice
If you have been thinking about giving blood, this is a reasonable moment to actually do it. You can check eligibility and book a session through NHS Blood and Transplant at blood.co.uk. Many of the rules that used to exclude people have been relaxed in recent years, so if you were turned away or put off in the past, it is worth checking again. Before you donate, eat normally and drink plenty of water. Donating on an empty stomach or dehydrated is the most common reason people feel faint. Answer the health questions honestly. The screening questionnaire is not there to judge you. It exists so that the layers of safety described above actually work, and being straightforward with it is the single most useful thing a donor does. If you are told your donation cannot be used, or that a test found something, take the follow-up seriously. Those 272 people learned something important about their own health. If you are due a transfusion and feel anxious about it, say so to the nurse or doctor looking after you. They will not think it is a silly question. You can also ask them to explain what checks the blood has been through. And if someone tells you UK blood is unsafe, you can now point at a year of 110 investigations and no confirmed transmissions.
What to know
The 2025 annual review from the NHS Blood and Transplant and UKHSA Epidemiology Unit, published on 24 September 2026, shows a blood supply that is about as safe as surveillance can demonstrate. 272 donors were withdrawn after tests found markers of HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HTLV or syphilis. Only one repeat donor showed a recent infection. The modelled window-period risk stayed at around one per million whole blood donations. And of 110 investigations into possible transfusion-transmitted infection, none were confirmed. Those numbers exist because the UK counts them and publishes them every year, including the years when the answer is uncomfortable. That is what makes them worth trusting. The practical takeaway is short. If you can donate, donate. And if you need a transfusion, the evidence says you are in safe hands. Sources: UK Health Security Agency, 'HPR volume 20 issue 9: news (24 September 2026)', GOV.UK, 24 September 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-report-volume-20-2026/hpr-volume-20-issue-9-news-24-september-2026; NHS Blood and Transplant / UKHSA Epidemiology Unit, 'Epidemiology Unit: annual review', hospital.blood.co.uk, 2026, https://hospital.blood.co.uk/diagnostic-services/microbiology-services/epidemiology/annual-review/; NHS Blood and Transplant, 'Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025', GOV.UK, 2025, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6878a0f80263c35f52e4dcd3/nhsbt-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025.pdf This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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