London Hospitals Seek Volunteers as Cyberattack Disrupts Services and Blood Samples Discarded

London hospitals are still grappling with the aftermath of a recent cyberattack that inflicted significant strain on their operations. The attack, which targeted Synnovis, a private firm responsible for analyzing blood tests, has led to the disruption of services at major National Health Service (NHS) hospital trusts, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ and King’s College. The situation has been labeled as “critical” by the affected hospitals.

Call for Volunteers

A memo that surfaced in recent days revealed that several London hospitals have reached out to medical students, urging them to volunteer for shifts lasting 10 to 12 hours. The hospitals emphasized the urgent need for volunteers to support their pathology services, as the repercussions of the cyberattack continue to reverberate across various hospital, community, and mental health services in the region.

The ransomware attack has not only resulted in the discard of thousands of blood samples and the postponement of operations but has also disrupted blood transfusions. As a result, the NHS has issued a public appeal for blood donors with O-negative and O-positive blood types.

Appeal for Blood Donors

The NHS has sought blood donors with O-negative blood types, which can be universally transfused to individuals with any blood type, and O-positive blood types, the most common blood type. The organization has highlighted the inability to match patients' blood at the usual frequency due to the cyberattack-induced disruption. The hospitals are working tirelessly to restore normalcy to their services and are relying on the support of volunteers and donors to mitigate the impact of the cyberattack.