The NHS has temporarily stopped some blood testing for certain conditions due to shortages of collection tubes.
NHS England has issued guidance urging doctors to stagger regular blood tests if clinically safe.
The decision came after Becton Dickinson (BD), which makes vials for the NHS, warned of serious supply chain issues across the UK.
BD said it had unprecedented demand for products driven by the need for tubes to test Covid-19 patients.
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The medical device company, which manufactures its tubes in the US, said routine testing for procedures which were delayed due to the pandemic had also increased demand.
Due to the shortages, the NHS England has temporarily stopped some fertility testing, screening for pre-diabetes, allergies and certain blood disorders. NHS Wales has issued similar guidance.
In its guidance, NHS England said there was "global shortages of blood tube products", not just with BD, and added that its guidance to medics was being issued "in order to balance demand".
"Clinicians and local pathology laboratories should review their current local practices in line with this guidance with a view to reducing the number of tests and impacted products used without impacting on urgent care," it added.
Doctors are concerned that a shortage of blood tube products will add to existing backlogs for blood tests.
The British Medical Association warned that a lack of tubes could worsen the "enormous backlog of care" created by the pandemic. It said it was "unreasonable" to ask healthcare staff to delay blood tests until a later date.
"No doctor wants the consequence of delayed diagnosis for patients due to these shortages, and they also need to know they are protected from any possible negligence claims," said Dr David Wrigley, deputy chair of BMA council.
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