count how many times same names appear in a column

[HP]

I have a column of names with patients who has blood transfusions . For
example Paul Smith with appear 3 times ie he had 3 units of blood transfusion.
What I need is total number of patients who has blood transfusion. The list
is about 1400 cells long.
Can anyone help please?

 

[Luke M]

Check out the XL help file article:
"Count unique values among duplicates "

You can do this via filters or functions, your choice. For your example, it
looks like you will need something like:
=SUM(IF(FREQUENCY(IF(LEN(A2:A10)>0,MATCH(A2:A10,A2:A10,0),""),
IF(LEN(A2:A10)>0,MATCH(A2:A10,A2:A10,0),""))>0,1))

Note that this is an array formula, and must be confirmed using
Ctrl+Shift+Enter, not just Enter.

 

[MDBCT]

Use the following array formula:
=sum(1/Countif(RangeOfCells,RangeOfCells))

confirm the formula with Ctrl +Shift+Enter instead of just the Enter key

 

[MDBCT]

Use the following Array formula (confirm formula with Ctrl+Shift+Enter)
=sum(1/countif(RangeOfCells,Range,OfCells))