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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service

government agency in City of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ7437864 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) is the national blood, blood product and tissue provider. It makes up a Strategic Business Unit of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS).

History

The first dedicated transfusion service in Scotland was formed at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in the 1930s. The Edinburgh Blood Transfusion Service (EBTS) was established in 1936 with Jack Copland as Organiser and Helen White as Secretary. Helen White took over as Organiser in 1940 when Copland moved into a national role. The first meeting of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Association (SNBTA) took place in Edinburgh in February 1940.

Key personnel

In the 1940s Helen White played a key role in the development of the blood donor service in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland, on her initiative a network of voluntary organisers was established. The network was characterised by its friendliness and the care she took in making voluntary donation an enjoyable activity.

Centres

There are five blood centres, in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

The SNBTS also has several mobile units that travel to the remote centres and communities.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service” as government agency in City of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1936, 1940—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1930-01-01, 1936—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. The account is most persuasive where Scottish, National and Blood can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as government agency in City of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7437864. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1936 and 1940.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service primary sources, Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service archive and Scottish research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.