All over the country, there are blood donors who play a crucial role in providing the voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood which are needed to facilitate our vital healthcare provisions. These regular blood donations are necessary all over the world to ensure individuals and communities have access to safe and quality-assured blood and blood products when needed. Of this supply, 67% of blood is used to treat medical conditions like cancer, anaemia and blood disorders such as sickle cell disease. 27% is used in surgery, including heart operations and emergency procedures and 6% used to help treat loss of blood after giving birth. However, with research showing the number of men giving blood has fallen almost 25 per cent in the last five years, encouraging the public to donate has become more important than ever. With today being National Blood Donor Day, a new tool by Medical Travel Compared has been launched to show just how far blood donations can go, as it explains those being helped with the 3 pints of blood users are able to donate over the course of a year. We asked Ben James and Samantha Lopez about their motivations for giving blood:
Ben James ‘About 9 months ago I got a call from my Mum in a state of panic saying that she was losing blood at a rapid rate and didn’t know what to do. At the time she was in Oxford and I was in Wrexham 140 miles away. Mum was able to call a paramedic and get to the hospital, where after 24 hours the emergency staff were able to understand where the bleed was coming from and diagnose the solution. The bleed was caused by a vital internal artery that had been ruptured at work, and mum was quite literally bleeding to death without knowing. Thanks to the doctors and quick thinking surgeons they were able to save her with a 4 hour endoscopy and 8 pints of blood. It was after this ordeal that I vowed to replenish the blood used to save her, as well as enough to save a second person, totalling in 16 pints altogether. If it wasn’t for Giveblood then there’s no chance I’d still have my mum, and so I actively encourage anyone reading this to find out if you're eligible to donate and get yourself booked in. It only takes an hour and they look after you step by step, plus they even throw in tea and biscuits!’
Samantha Lopez ‘Seeing my mum being poked and prodded to receive her cancer treatment motivated me to donate blood. One small needle to save 3 lives is nothing compared to what a cancer patient endures.’’
For more information on giving blood go to www.blood.co.uk