In this leadership conversation, Geraldine Parker-Smith, National Partnership Manager at NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), shares her inspiring journey of over 26 years in the healthcare sector. Driven by her passion for helping save lives, particularly within the Black community, Geraldine discusses:
- the life-changing importance of blood donation
- ongoing challenges in blood supply disparities
- plus innovative NHSBT campaigns that foster inclusivity.
From cultural snacks at donor centres to flash mobs with gospel choirs, Geraldine’s partnerships bring a new level of community engagement to NHSBT’s mission.
Watch the full interview below:
As Geraldine shares in this conversation, blood supplies are on Amber alert. The NHS needs more donors to come forward and give blood, especially those with RO blood type in the Black community to treat sickle cell patients. GatenbySanderson support NHSBT’s #DonateBreaks campaign and all our staff can take time in their working day to go and donate blood, as part of our agile working policy.
We encourage you and your organisation to support the campaign and help increase stocks so urgently needed to save lives.
333 Pledges 333 Lives:
Launched during this year’s Black History Month, we are focusing on health disparities within the Black community. This aligns with the Black History Month theme of reclaiming narratives, where we aim to challenge and reshape the narrative around healthcare inequalities and highlight the leaders and exemplary leadership behaviours driving change in this space. One of the health disparities you can take action on to support is the lack of diverse stem cell donors on the register, which Jen and Geraldine discussed briefly in their conversation. In the UK, people of Black African and Black Caribbean heritage have significantly lower chances of finding a matching stem cell (bone marrow) donor compared to a patient from white, northern European heritage. This disparity costs lives.
Did you know that stem cell donation is ethnicity-specific, meaning you are likely to find a donor from someone with the same or similar heritage as you? By increasing the number of people of Black African and Black Caribbean heritage joining the register, we can begin to address this disparity.
By pledging today, you can help close this gap and give hope to someone in need, reclaiming the narrative around health disparities in the UK