BLOOD donation sessions will no longer take place at a Basingstoke community centre due to a shortage of donors.

Regular donors at the Roger Morris Centre, in Eastrop Way, Eastrop, received a letter from NHS Blood and Transplant detailing the reason for the closure.

The life-saving service visited the centre once every 16 weeks – the minimum interval at which a woman can donate blood without risking iron deficiency.

Jonathan Sewell, lead donor relations manager for Southampton, confirmed the decision to stop using the centre.

He said: “We are currently looking at a larger venue near Eastrop, following a decision to close the existing session due to under-attendance, and hope to increase the capacity at some existing Basingstoke sessions and extend the opening hours to enable more people to give blood.”

The letter that was sent to regular donors stated: “We review our blood donation programme on a regular basis to ensure that our plans best meet the needs of patients and hospitals, whilst at the same time providing a good service to our many loyal donors.

“As a publicly-funded organisation in the NHS, we have a responsibility to deliver our services as efficiently and effectively as possible within the limited resources that are available.”

The last blood donor session at the Eastrop centre took place in December.