SOUL singer Lurine Cato, a winner of the prestigious Mobo music prize, is leading an NHS choir launched to urge people to donate blood and help raise vital funds to help sickle cell wards.

B Positive Choir was formed last year to raise awareness of the disease and the need for more blood donors.

It is made up of 60 singers from across England who live with sickle cell disease, along with members of their families, helpers and friends.

NHS Blood and Transplant urgently needs 200,000 new blood donors each year and one donation can save up to three lives.

Around 15,000 people in Britain have sickle cell disease but it is more common in people from a black and ethnic minority background.
 
Choir director Colin Anderson said: "We need life-saving blood from new donors of all backgrounds to provide the closest matches for all communities. We are particularly looking for younger people and black communities to come forward."

Every month, hospitals in England request 3-4,000 units of red cells to treat patients with sickle cell. Some blood groups such as B positive and RO are more common in black people.

B Positive Choir debuted their song Rise Up at this year's Mobo Awards, with lead vocals from Ms Cato.

Mobo director Kanya King MBE said:  "We were honoured to be able to provide B Positive Choir with their television debut, and it's amazing to see the response they have received."

To hear the song and for more information, go to:
www.blood.co.uk/bpositive