The British Red Cross first became involved in blood transfusion services in 1921. Percy Lane Oliver, Honorary Secretary of the Camberwell Division of the British Red Cross Society London Branch, received a telephone call from King’s College Hospital, asking for a volunteer to donate blood for a seriously ill patient. After a suitable match was found and the patient’s life saved, Percy Oliver formed a panel of donors to enable blood of all blood groups to be supplied quickly to any hospital. To be able to do this quickly was vital as, at this point in time, blood needed to be fresh for transfusions to take place.

The service ran from Percy Oliver’s own home and became known as the London Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service. Soon after, the British Red Cross Society were to assume responsibility for the service which became known as the British Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service. By 1939, the Voluntary Blood Donor Association had been established which provided donors with the likes of social events and meetings. There were also more than fifty donor panels operating across the country by this time.

The Second World War brought with it the Emergency Blood Transfusion Service which would take permanent responsibility for providing blood and blood products as well as the equipment needed to take, group and store these items. It eventually became known as the National Blood Transfusion Service. The Red Cross service, known from 1945 in the London area as the Greater London Blood Transfusion Service, continued to assist when donors of fresh blood were required.

In 1986, the Greater London Blood Transfusion Service ceased operation due to the need for donated blood to be screened and processed more thoroughly to give several products from each donation. Likewise, there was also a decline in the requirement for donors to attend at hospitals to give fresh donations.