Home - Careers - NHS Blood and Transplant

At NHS Blood and Transplant, you’ll help to provide a service that transforms lives, making sure donations get to the people who need them most.

It takes all types to make blood flow and find the organs that match. Of course, we’re not just talking about blood types – we’re also talking about the thousands of people who work here. And every type makes a difference.

Through the donations we receive, including blood, organs, tissues and stem cells, we provide life-saving and life-improving products and treatments, as well as a range of related diagnostic and therapeutic services.

From donor carers, nurses and scientists to logistics experts and drivers, everyone has a vital role to play. Together, we deliver a life-changing service for millions of people across the UK.

What our staff say

“NHSBT’s mission is critical to saving lives, and that drives me forward."
Ross' story
“From the ups, the downs, to everything in between, I love my job.”
Angela's story
"I really enjoy my role and being involved in improving the service for all patients, donors, and colleagues."
Paul's story

Video: NHSBT careers

Find out what our people think about working at NHS Blood and Transplant.

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Video transcript

We asked our employees what it was like to work at NHS Blood and Transplant.

Here is what they said…

Driver: I'm a driver. I deliver blood and blood related products to hospitals.

Session Sister: So my job title is Session Sister.

Blood Donor Carer: My job title is a Blood Donor Carer.

Healthcare Technical Officer (1): I'm a HTO, that's a Healthcare Technical Officer.

Team Supervisor: And I am a Team Supervisor here in Manufacturing, Filton.

Healthcare Technical Officer (2): I'm a Healthcare Technical Officer in the manufacturing department here at NHSBT.

Biomedical Scientist Team Manager: I'm a Biomedical Scientist Team Manager.

Trainee BMS: My job title is a trainee BMS.

Healthcare Technical Officer (2): Why I love my job is that we are helping patients every single day.

Driver: My small contribution could indirectly save a stranger's life.

Team Supervisor: I love that you get so involved in the journey from the donor to the patient, especially in my role working with named patient requests.

Blood Donor Carer: My proudest moment would have to be helping several donors who've been really nervous about the process get through it and also feel well afterwards.

Biomedical Scientist Team Manager: When I had my IBMS registration come through, so once I became a biomedical scientist.

Healthcare Technical Officer (2): I know that I am essentially providing life-saving treatment to people every single day.

Trainee BMS: Every day is a proud moment.

Team Supervisor: I have to do a lot of problem solving and sort of quality management around it. You sometimes get something interesting flag up from the donor's point of view, because we're caring for the donors as well and making sure that they're safe to donate.

Trainee BMS: I guess the most exciting thing is balancing the huge amount of samples that we have to carry around, so we get about 3,000, 4,000 samples every day.

Driver: There's loads of on the job training that you have to do to stay up to date and to keep you as safe and aware as you need to be.

Healthcare Technical Officer (2): So for this job role that I'm in currently you don't need any qualifications. It's good to have a background or knowledge of blood transfusion but it is not required.

Trainee BMS: So I need a BMS degree to become a trainee BMS, but I'm also working towards a portfolio to become HCPC qualified so that I can actually be a qualified BMS.

Biomedical Scientist Team Manager: Working hours are on rotational shifts with my colleagues, so my managerial colleagues. We are on a 7 week rotational.

Blood Donor Carer: My usual working hours are 30 hours a week.

Healthcare Technical Officer (1): I very much enjoyed doing the night shift which was actually getting the session units in and then starting to process them. I've also done cover shifts where we actually covered for the standard primary pods as far as, actually, FFP and cryo units are concerned.

Session Sister: Anyone that is thinking of working on blood donations should join because it's a fun job to have.

Driver: To anybody thinking of working for NHSBT, it's a really, really rewarding job, especially when you consider you are effectively delivering the most valuable product on the planet – especially if you need it. What could be more important than blood?