1 week Ago By [email protected] (Gregor White)
We’ve done it! On November 29 last year Highland News and Media and the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) launched Give Blood, Save Lives, our joint campaign to bring in 5000 blood donations across the Highlands and Moray by Easter. In the weeks since we have shared stories from patients who have received lifesaving blood transfusions – people like Duncan MacAulay who relied on transfusions to support him through heart transplant surgery; Vicky McCorquodale who needed transfusions after labour complications and Katie Rose who was transfused after a sudden haemorrhage. Shinty club backs blood donation campaign News team steps up for blood donation Mum looks to blood donation to honour baby son Every single one of these people is here today because people in Scotland took an hour out of their day to give blood.
We also heard from family members, telling us about the difference blood donors have made to their lives - people like you - and those who give blood on a regular basis or are, hopefully, newly into the habit as a result of the campaign. These include people like Margaret Clark who gave blood and now gives plasma because her nephew’s life was prolonged due to transfusions; as well as groups like Highland Hockey Club who give blood together as a team because they want to give something back to their local community. Altogether SNBTS in the north welcomed 5049 donors through its doors by Easter weekend - 4723 blood donations along with 326 donors giving plasma, a specific component of blood which can be used to provide a range of treatments for people with immune deficiency and other serious health conditions.
It’s a brilliant result and we want to thank everyone across our patch who has got on board - in and around Inverness, across Ross-shire, Sutherland, Caithness, Strathspey and in Moray. As we have repeatedly outlined during the campaign, every donation of blood has the potential to save or improve the lives of up to three people - so collectively we have potentially helped more than 15,000 individuals in need. But while the campaign may be over, even more blood donors are still needed.
Inverness, for example, needs 300 new blood donors to come forward this year and across Scotland as a whole 25 new blood donors are required every single month to ensure patients can rely on getting the treatment they need when they need it. Scotland’s patients need YOU. Dr Sylvia Armstrong-Fisher, SNBTS head of donor services for the north, said: “Together, we have met our target of bringing in 5000 blood donations this month – and that’s amazing.
“The Highlands and Moray have played their part in making sure every baby who needed blood, every leukaemia sufferer who needed platelets, and every transplant patient who needed plasma over the last five months has received the treatment they needed. “Those 5000 donations have saved or improved the lives of up to 15,000 patients, and that’s thanks to the generosity of Highland News and Media readers and the work of the teams who’ve supported the campaign. “However, we need to build on this now.
“Only 22 per cent of our new Highland donors this year have been aged 17-24. To put this in perspective, the average for the rest of the country is 38 per cent. “Conversely, 13 per cent of Highland donors are aged 55-64.
Our donors are loyal and amazing – but we need more younger donors.” There are a number of blood donation sessions taking place at venues across the Highlands and Moray over the next several weeks including in Dingwall on April 29; in Beauly on May 6; Kingussie on May 7; Tain on May 13; Elgin on May 14, 25 and 27; Invergordon on May 21 and Wick on May 28. There are also regular donation sessions held at the Inverness Donor Centre based at Raigmore Hospital.
To find out more or to book and appointment visit www.scotblood.co.
uk or call 0345 90 90 999..
