PEOPLE in the Okehampton area are being urged to give blood as soon as possible as the NHS looks to meet a severe shortfall of stocks over the festive period.

NHS Blood and Transplant is looking to recruit 100,000 new donors over 100 days to protect future blood stocks. Every year 225,000 new donors are needed to replace existing donors who drop out of the system.

This year, the need is more urgent than ever, following a dramatic decline in the number of younger donors signing up.

Young people are vital to the blood service, with 17 to 24 year olds accounting for around 40% of new donors each year. The number of young donors registering has been falling steadily, by 20% over the last ten years. 2012 has seen a particularly sharp decline, with a 50% drop in the number of 17 to 18 year olds registering compared with 2011.

NHSBT spokesperson Jon Latham said: 'The number of young people donating has been falling for the last decade but this year there's been a sharp drop and we now need 100,000 donors to sign up in the next 100 days to start addressing the shortfall.

'We welcome all eligible new donors, but a failure to boost the number of young donors now will put a strain on the blood service in the years to come.'

There are four locations in the Okehampton area where donors can give blood. The next blood donation session in the area is at Hatherleigh Community Centre on Thursday, January 24.

Okehampton Charter Hall will be open for a donation session on Wednesday, March 6, Wednesday, April 17 and Thursday, June 27.

North Tawton Primary School will hold sessions on Friday, February 22, and Wednesday, May 29.

Chagford Jubilee Hall will host a session on March 28.

You can book a time-slot at any of these sessions online at http://www.blood.co.uk">www.blood.co.uk

Blood donations are a vital resource to help treat health conditions, including cancer and long term illnesses, people involved in accidents and in maternity care.

Hospitals across England need 7,000 units of blood every day and each unit saves or improves the lives of up to three people. Over a lifetime, some blood donors help more than 500 people through their donations.

The newly launched application for Android and Apple Smartphone and tablet devices enables donors to search for their nearest blood donation sessions. The app is called NHSGiveBlood and can be found at the Apple app store and the Google Play Store.

To find out if you are eligible to become a blood donor and make a date to donate, visit http://www.blood.co.uk">www.blood.co.uk or call us on 0300 123 23 23. You can also follow NHS Blood and Transplant on Twitter or Facebook.