We are delighted to report that after a nearly twenty year campaign NHS Blood and Transplant Services (NHSBT) has finally accepted that patients who visit any acupuncturist can now donate blood without a four month deferral period. The deferral arose after an EU law change in 2005 defining a 'qualified practitioner' resulted in exemptions from deferral only for patients of acupuncturists who belonged to a statutory register. Patients of traditional acupuncturists, who had led the standard setting and safety research, were forced to wait for four months before they could donate their blood. This anomaly has now been corrected, ending what for many patients had been an awful choice between regular treatment and the desire to do their bit for their fellow citizens.

The British Acupuncture Council, which was largely responsible for the sustained pressure over the last sixteen years, has put together a fascinating short presentaion of this campaign featuring one of our own CCHC practitioners.