A big thank you to all who took the time to complete the JLA PSP Blood Transfusion and Donation update survey this year. A little background and update on progress for you:
Background
In 2018 a group of clinicians, patients and researchers completed a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership [JLA PSP] on Blood Transfusion and Blood Donation [Blood transfusion and blood donation | NIHR JLA]. This work had started in 2016, and so ten years later, we have embarked on its update, following the methods used in the original PSP. This update is being led by staff from the Systematic Review Initiative and the Transfusion Research Network.
The starting point for the update was a survey. The survey asked respondents to list up to three important research questions in Blood Transfusion and Blood Donation We worked hard to circulate the survey amongst many relevant stakeholder groups including clinicians, blood donors, carers of and patients who had received a transfusion.
To help us build on the findings of the original PSP, we will be using the groupings and final ‘indicative’ questions as a starting point for this update. This means that we will initially try and map all questions generated by the survey to the groupings and indicative questions from the original PSP.
Where we are
The survey closed on 30th June 2026 and generated 448 research questions from 229 responders.
Initial work to group the questions has revealed that we have
- 142 questions focused on Blood Donation
- 169 questions focused on Blood Transfusion, of these:
- 45 questions were in areas not covered in the original PSP, these include behavioural change, artificial intelligence and universal blood components
- 68 questions were not a research question
- 18 questions that are out of our scope
What are the next steps?
We will continue collating the survey responses: the volume and richness of the feedback mean it will take some time to fully complete this task.
Many of the questions raised although not research questions, did raise important topics, such as barriers to donation, increasing the diversity of our donor pool and understanding why alternatives to transfusion are not offered more frequently. These responses will be shared with the relevant NHS Blood and Transplant departments for consideration and action where appropriate.
We are also planning the final requirement of a JLA PSP: a workshop in March 2027. We know that many survey responders kindly expressed an interest in taking part and we will be in touch in the autumn with further details. While we may not be able to offer a place to everyone, we are committed to ensuring that all those interested remain informed and involved. We will therefore keep people updated with progress and outcomes as the process moves along via blogs and social media.