Beavertown Brewery is giving away free beer in exchange for blood donations

The NHS states that 400 new donors are needed every day to keep up with demand

(Beavertown Brewery

A London-based craft beer company is offering members of the public free beer in exchange for blood donations.

Beavertown Brewery, in Tottenham, north London, is offering craft beer lovers the chance to try its re-launched Bloody Ell’ Blood Orange IPA for free.

The company will provide glasses of the blood orange-infused beer to the first 500 people who visit the brewery from 2pm on Saturday 25 May and can prove they have signed up to be a blood donor.

Beavertown says the remastered Bloody ‘Ell beer features a “juicy malt bill combined with citrusy, hoppy top notes".

The brewery decided to launch the scheme after the NHS Blood & Transplant Service appealed to men in particular to give blood earlier this year after figures revealed there were more than twice as many female donors as male donors in England in 2018.

According to the NHS Blood & Transplant Service, men’s blood has different characteristics to women’s blood.

It says that men’s blood can contain fewer antibodies against red and white blood cells because women often make these antibodies during pregnancy.

This means male blood can be more suitable for creating blood products used to treat patients.

Mike Stredder, director of Blood Donation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said at the time: “It’s vital that more men start donating blood because their blood is used to provide life-saving products like plasma and platelets – to save victims of burns, car crashes and treat to patients with cancer.

“We’re incredibly grateful to all our female donors who are vital in providing lifesaving blood to those in need. But we need men to catch up with recent recruitment because their blood can have different characteristics which can make it important in certain situations.”

Speaking of the new campaign, Beavertown Brewery’s brand manager, Sam Millard, added: “Giving blood is something all of us would like to get behind, from our staff, friends and family and our customers whose lives have been saved by blood donations.

“The NHS says we need 400 new donors every single day to keep up with demand – so by celebrating Bloody Ell with this ‘bloody’ twist, we want to smash that 400 target.

“We’re giving craft beer fans who haven’t got around to giving blood another great reason to sign up and book in their appointments.”

You can sign up to donate blood here or show up to register on the day.