NHS chiefs have thanked residents for coming forward to donate blood for its ‘Missing Type’ campaign during National Blood Week.

Nearly 400 people in Buckinghamshire registered as a blood donor between the campaign’s launch on June 5 and World Blood Donor Day on June 14.

The campaign saw an publicity campaign seeking to highlight a 40 per cent decrease in new donors last year compared to a decade ago.

Some of the campaign’s highest profile supporters included Downing Street, Google, Microsoft, McDonalds, British Airways, The Church of England, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks.

Jon Latham, NHSBT’s Assistant Director for Donor Services and Marketing, said: "I’d like to say a huge thank you to everybody in Buckinghamshire who responded to our ‘Missing Type’ campaign by either helping to spread the word or by signing up to donate.

"We hope that the thousands of people who registered will now go on to book an appointment and become regular donors and that the organisations who backed the campaign will continue to help us promote blood donation."

Jon Latham says the job is "far from done" and 204,000 more people are needed to come forward as donors this year. NHSBT collects 1.7 million units of blood each year but only four per cent of the eligible population are active blood donors.

To donate, register or book your appointment, visit www.blood.co.uk.