TheDonorIt’s a miracleNew ante-natal life saving technology

Thanks to youLook out for our new award scheme

It’s a miracleNew ante-natal life saving technology

Thanks to youLook out for our new award scheme

MAKING DONORS HAPPYHow our donation review will help youMAKING DONORS HAPPYHow our donation review will help you

NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL BLOOD SERVICE SPRING 2001 • FREE

GIVING MORETHAN BLOOD

TheDonorDON’T FO

RGET

THE NEW NUMBER

0845 7 711 711

THE DONOR SPRING 2001 3

NEWS

Don’t forget the new number 0845 7 711 7112 THE DONOR SPRING 2001 Find out where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

CONTENTS

When the Army hosted a “Big Brew Up” atDonnington base in Shropshire as part

of a nationwide campaign, it saw the NationalBlood Service as a likely ally. After all, every daysome 10,000 people around England drinkNBS tea after giving blood, so they must knowhow to make a cuppa!

The event was the third fund-raiser organisednationally by the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and

Families Association (SSAFA), which works tosupport former Services personnel who are inneed.

Seen above making sure no one took toomany biscuits are some of the soldiers whohelped on the day, with Tricia Smith whoassisted Staff Sergeant Andy Dyke with theorganisation, and Blood Service staff membersKingsley Brookes and Brendan Mulvey.

William is new centre star

What a difference adonor makes! Six

months after receiving abone-marrow transplant, six-year old Molly-Ann Barnettfrom Leeds is “full of energyand feeling well” according toher parents Paul and Mandy.

Molly Anns parents wouldlike to say a very big thank youto everyone who respondedand enrolled as a potentialbone marrow donor. BecauseMolly Ann has a rare tissuetype getting a match was verydifficult. As a result of the

Good news for Molly-Ann Stoke-on-Trent has become

home to the secondpermanent blood donorcentre in the West Midlands.

The Stoke Centre, whichuses an appointments systemacross a flexible range ofhours, on three days a week, isalready proving very popular.

Nine-year-old local boyWilliam Tinsley, who must

receive three units of red cellsa month, proved to be the starof the show on opening day.And his mum Debbie becameone of the new centre’s earlydonors. William is picturedwith her just after she haddonated.

Debbie was alsointerviewed by BBC RadioStoke presenter Sam Plank.

Euro MP Philip Bushill-Matthews and his wife

Angela, who are bothcommitted donors, did theirbit to help boost turnout intheir home village of Harbury,Warwickshire, after hearing

that blood stocks were downnationally. They helpedpublicise the need for donorsand made sure they wereamong the first donorsthrough the village hall doorson the day.

GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?We welcome your personal stories, questions and comments.Write to Carlene Dias, The Editor, The Donor, National BloodService, Southmead Road, Bristol, BS10 5ND. Or visit our Website to find out more about the National BloodService and where you can also send us material for The Donor.The address is www.blood.co.uk

The cost of producing, printing and posting each copy ofthis magazine is less than the price of a first class stamp.The Donor is published by the National Blood Service. Reproduction inwhole or part is strictly forbidden without the prior permission of theNational Blood Service. NBS Project Liaison Caroline Osborne. Editorial consultancy, art direction,design, subbing and production Keith Hodgson and Hilary Joseph – LewinHodgson Design (LHD). Reproduction – Triffik Technology. Printed in theUK by Apple Web Offset Ltd on paper from sustainable forests. Cover photograph: Steve Lyne

3 NEWSLatest news and stories from donors and donor centres acrossthe country

7 GIVING MORE THAN BLOODVolunteers are important to the NBS and there are many waysto make a difference

8 KEEPING THE CUSTOMERS SATISFIEDRead how we are planning to make a 30 minute donationsession a reality for every donor. Meet one of the newthoroughly modern collection teams in action

10 MY LIFE …We catch up with the woman who sets the pace at the leadingedge of ante-natal blood screening

11 IT’S A MIRACLEThe remarkable story of how pioneering technology savedbaby Jame’s life before he was born

12 OVER TO YOUHeard the one about the dog that became a donor. Check outthe letters page, plus try our seasonal recipe and health Q&A

13 EASTER’S NOT EASY FOR THE NBS Holidays can mean low blood stocks, so give the NBS a veryGood Friday by giving before you go

14 THANKS TO YOUNow veteran donors can look forward to consistent awards

15 THE INFORMATION CENTREAn up-to-date listing of all permanent blood donor centres

16 NIGEL’S 90 DAY CHALLENGEA trip around Britain in a canoe is one man’s way of putting thespotlight on the NBS and saying thanks for saving his life

In this Spring issue

Improving the service see pages 8/9 Giving more than blood see page 7

Welcome to the second issue of our new-style TheDonor. We’ve been busy carrying out reviews andsurveys to find out how the NBS can best serveyou the donor. On pages 8 and 9 you can readabout the extensive review being carried out ofthe whole donation process, with a view togetting waiting times down. Then on page 14,you can preview the new awards scheme,developed after we asked donors what theywanted.

And finally, we’ve been finding out what youthink of our re-launched magazine, to see howwe can make it even better and more relevant toyou. From a phone survey of over 500 donors lastDecember, the message is that you broadly likewhat we’re doing. Half of interviewees said theyhad read the magazine, and 84% of these readersfound it “useful/interesting”, while 89% saidthey would like to receive further issues.

These results confirm the value of mailing themagazine instead of leaving it to be picked up atdonor sessions – the number of readers hasjumped from about 380,000 to 990,000 – afantastic result.

Interviewees had plenty of ideas for futurematerial for The Donor and we’ll be lookingcarefully at all your comments and suggestions.We know that some households received morethan one copy, and we are working to reduceduplication.

One major aim of The Donor is to keep youinformed of important changes and events, andwe were encouraged that 50% of readers saidthey knew about the website and new NBSnational phone number, featured in the last issueof The Donor.

Finally, thanks to everyone who took part inthe survey, and keep your letters coming!

Carlene DiasEditor

The National Blood Service is run by The National Blood Authoritywhich is a Special Health Authority within the National Health Service

Euro MP publicises donating

When Robert Jacksonretired as a donor

recently it was with theimmense satisfaction ofknowing that he had given anamazing 171 donations.

Mr Jackson, who wasapproaching his 70th birthday at the time of his final donation, begandonating in 1949, following inhis mother’s footsteps. He

continued to donate boththrough his service in the Navyand then in civilian life.

In the past 20 years he hasbeen sports reporter for BBCRadio Sheffield and has alsoserved as a magistrate.

After his final donation Mr Jackson received a framed certificate from EveWorthington of the SheffieldNational Blood Service.

Sports reporter ends a marathon innings

Become a bone marrow donor

Official thumbs up for Blood ServiceThe National Blood Service (NBS) has

received a positive report from theNational Audit Office (NAO).

Commenting on the report, NAOhead Sir John Bourn said, “Theavailability of blood is essential to theNHS and many people owe their lives totransfusions that were made possible byvoluntary donations of blood.

“The National Blood Service has hadto change the blood service from aregional to a national one, cope with theemergence of variant CJD, and at thesame time maintain supplies to hospitalsof sufficient safe blood… The indicationsare that the Service has made goodprogress towards providing an effectivenational service,” Sir John added.

Since it was set up in 1993 the NBS hastaken over the services previouslyprovided by individual regional health

authorities. The NAO report found thatblood transfusion is now ‘extremelysafe’, collection and delivering of bloodis better in many areas since the NBStook over from regional healthauthorities, there were no bloodshortages in 1999-2000, costs savings of5.4% were made between 1995 –96 and1998-99.

Some improvements could be made,the report notes, including better commu-nication with hospitals, more emphasison adopting good management practiceuniformly throughout the country.

Comments Jim Moir, Head ofCorporate Relations at NBS, “This was avery positive audit, and our staff werevery pleased with the findings – it was areal morale booster. We have alreadystarted working hard on some of theNAO report recommendations. ”

Tea time for the troops

appeal, morethan 14,000 newdonors wentonto the BritishBone MarrowRegistry.

Even thoughthe match forMolly-Ann wasfound in the US, itis vital that morevolunteers fromall parts of thecountry comeforward as donors. The morepeople that register, the

greater the chance of findinga suitable match.

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The criteria for becominga bone marrow donor

has recently changed. Youcan now enrol as a bonemarrow donor up until your45th birthday. You must be ablood donor and have givenone donation, aged between18 – 44, be in good healthand weigh over 50kg (7st

12lbs), plus consent to asmall extra blood samplebeing taken to identify yourtissue type. Potential bonemarrow donors are matchedto patients by tissue type.

If you would like to knowmore contact the BritishBone Marrow Registry on0117/ 991 2068 or 912 1534.

THE DONOR SPRING 2001 5

NEWS

Don’t forget the new number 0845 7 711 7114 THE DONOR SPRING 2001

NEWS

Find out where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

Aprocedure which allowscollection of two units

of red cells by apheresis in asingle donation is beingsuccessfully operated atLeeds Blood Centre.

Leeds undertook a pilotstudy of the procedureduring the latter part of1997, and the evaluation ofthis was completed in 1998.

A total of 32 donors, allmen, volunteered toparticipate in the trial. Oneimportant aim was todemonstrate that theselection criteria andfrequency of donation wouldallow routine collectionwithout significant risk to thedonor.

Donor tolerance to the procedure was measuredin each of the volunteers –

with very positive andenthusiastic results.

Donors on the panel areasked to make twodonations a year, which areplanned on an appointmentsystem for their convenience.Each donation takes about40 minutes.

This major initiativemeans the National BloodService can meet red cellcollection targets moreeffectively – being theequivalent of four donationsper year compared to theusual maximum of three. Italso allows the NBS to collectspecific types of blood, suchas O-negative.

Pictured above, donorSteven Myers and NBS StaffSister Alison Sivyer at St Paul’sStreet Blood Centre in Leeds.

102 donations!

A fit place to give Clifton Leisure Centre in Nottingham has opened its doors not only to keep-fitters, but also to those who want to help make others fit. When the centre hosted itsfirst donor session it proved agreat success - with 173people donating.

Village firstThe Lincolnshire village ofRuskington is now well and truly on the NationalBlood Service map, havingheld its first donor sessionvery successfully. Villagers were keen to roll up their sleeves, with 142 donating on theday, including 48 first timers. At the front of the queue was NBS staff member EveWorthington, who praisedlocal people for turning outand hoped the success of thesession would encourageeven more to come alongnext time.

Warm workThings really warmed upduring a busy session atFakenham CommunityCentre in Norfolk when it was discovered the gentstoilets were on fire. TeamManager Andrew O’Brienand an off-duty fireman who had come along todonate were able toextinguish the blaze beforethe fire brigade arrived. Says Andrew: “The officer in charge gavethe all-clear to continue, sothankfully no donations werelost. The donors were keptinformed throughout andenjoyed the excitement,especially when I emergedwith blackened face to thecheers and congratulations ofthe team.”

Real high-flyersThe Waterlooville facility ofaeronautics giant BAeSystems, in Southampton,has a novel way of letting staffdonors know how much theyhave given - a poster whichwent up after a recent sessionsaid: “That’s 90 bottles ofwine, or nearly 15 gallons ofthe stuff!” Support startsright at the top, withManaging Director AndyWilliams a keen blood donor.

in brief...What thepapers say...

It’s so simple,after all!

The Ealing Gazetterecently gave donor

sessions in the area a bigboost by sending along areporter who freelyadmitted: “Even the word‘blood’ can make me goweak at the knees.”

But first-timer FionaMitchell not only gotthrough her donation, shewent on to write a full-pagearticle which spelled out justhow easy and important it isto give blood. Easy becauseit only took 15 minutes, andimportant because, in herwords, “2.5 gallons of bloodare used every threeminutes across England andNorth Wales, blood is inhuge demand.”

Her article, whichcarefully reported on eachstage of the donationprocess, would not onlyhave reminded existingdonors to go along to theirlocal sessions but must alsohave led a lot of people tomake the decision to enrolas a new donor.

Inspired by a successfulrecruitment campaign

involving his own news-paper, the editor of thePortsmouth News, MikeGilson (above left), signs up as a blood donor under the watchful eye of Southampton donorrecruiter Geoff Anderson.The campaign saw 67 newdonors enrolled.

Editor signs up

When Gerald Woodhouse, of Dudley in the WestMidlands, made his 102nd whole blood donation

he did so with a flourish worthy of Walt Disney – by bringing along the family’s dalmatian.... “l02 Donations”, you might say! The donation was alsoMr Woodhouse’s last as he is nearing his 70th birthday.

Radio really helped the NBSCentre in Sheffield get the

message across about howimportant it is to give blood.Trax FM, based in Doncaster,and five sister stations focusedfor a full month on donorsessions which needed aboost.

At the same time, the NBSpublicity caravan was keptbusy visiting locations to raise

awareness, and staff attendedsessions to recruit additionaldonors. A recipient fromDoncaster, Tim Wood, whosuffers from leukaemia, wasinterviewed - telling Trax FMlisteners his amazing story ofreceiving a huge amount ofboth blood and platelets.

The result – a grand totalof 350 new donors wereenrolled.

Birmingham donor AlanParton (pictured right) is so

keen to give blood that he runseight miles to do so. Alan isdedicated to keeping fit aswell as to helping others - andhe combines the two byjogging to Birmingham DonorCentre every time the BloodService asks him to donate.

Aged 57, Alan is alsosetting a cracking pace when itcomes to the number of timeshe has given - with 63donations to his credit so far. “Iusually run to the DonorCentre but occasionally I cyclefor a bit of variety,” says Alan,who has also run many

hundreds of miles for charities.“They won’t let me run homethough, so I take the bus.”

The Michelin company’s factory in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, has clocked up what

may be a unique claim to fame - 50 years ofhosting blood donor sessions for employees.

In that time, estimates the National BloodService, Michelin staff have given more than28,600 donations. As the NBS itself was onlyestablished in the years after the war, it may bethat Michelin is our oldest commercialsupporter.

At the first session held at Michelin, in

October 1950, a total of 112 staff donated.Over the years numbers have varied, oftenreaching well into the hundreds. Indeed,sometimes they have reached epic proportions- with the record being 321 donations taken onone day in June 1977!

Pictured above: Jim Rickard (second left),the Michelin Stoke site manager, receives acrystal rosebowl from Ken Barker of Collectionsat Birmingham Centre and team leaderBarbara Clarke.

They never get ‘tyred’ of donating Insurance policyThe Kingswood Surrey office of insurance giant Legal &General, which has beenhosting sessions since 1966, iscelebrating that it has topped14,000 donations. The mostrecent two-day session follow-ed the launch of a new NBScampaign “Working togetherto save lives”. Being run inconjunction with the CBI andTUC, the campaign is targetingcompanies and organisationsto raise awareness of the needfor blood and encourage blooddonation in the workplace.

Life-saving townSome 20 companies inFarnborough allow theiremployees to donate duringwork time, and over the last20 years this has yielded over23,400 life-saving units ofblood, or 3000 gallons. Thiscould very well have saved thelives of over 50,000 people,which is about the totalpopulation of Farnborough!In one recent ten-day periodno less than four businesseshosted donor sessions. Truly a fine example of what“Working together to savelives” is all about.

Life office with morethan one meaning

Another long-standing business backer for blood collectionis Friends Provident Life Assurance, in Dorking, where

donor collection teams have been regular visitors since 1959. Inthat time they have collected more than a thousand gallons fromstaff. In fact, the visits to Friends Provident go back almost aslong as the company has been based in Dorking.

Pictured above, Ross Braithwaite of Friends Provident doeshis bit, with the help of Donor Carer Cindy Wheeler.

Ahundred yearsago this year,

Karl Landsteinerof Vienna (1868–1943) publishedhis discovery ofwhat we nowknow as the ABO blood groupsystem.

He had realised that therewere differences between theblood of individuals followingexperiments performed usingsamples from his colleagues atthe Institute of Pathology inVienna.

He mixed their red cellsand serum and observed thatsome mixtures would result inclumping of the cells whilst inothers the red cells remainedseparate.

Landsteiner initially calledthe three blood groups whichhe identified A, B and C.These eventually becameknown as A, B and O. Therarer group AB was not

discovered until thefollowing year bytwo of Landsteiner’spupils.

Landsteiner’swork opened thedoor to safertransfusion but itwas some yearsafter his discovery

that blood grouping wasroutinely adopted.

Although the ABO systemwas the first blood groupsystem to be discovered, it stillremains the most important.It is vitally important that weensure patients are givenblood of the correct ABOgroup.

Karl Landsteiner emigratedto New York in 1922, anddiscovered the Rhesus bloodfactor whilst working at theRockefeller Institute forMedical Research.

He was awarded the NobelPrize for Medicine in 1930 forhis work on blood groups.

Alan really runs for life

The Blood Service inManchester teamed upvery successfully with

CSV, an organisation whichgives people the chance tovolunteer for socially valuableprojects, to help recruit in thecity. “The donor centre took78 donations on the day and

had to ask other potentialdonors to return later in theweek because the sessionhad been so popular,” said Pat Walmsley, donorrecruitment co-ordinator,who is seen above secondfrom right with teammembers.

Doing it “at the double”

Celebrating a centuryof blood groups

City centre success

Trax booster brings in donors

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Don’t forget the new number 0845 7 711 711Find out where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

CAMPAIGN NEWS

6 THE DONOR SPRING 2001

The year end was fun but busyfor Billy Blood Drop and his

colleagues at the NBS, witheveryone determined to boostblood stocks for Christmas.

Here we catch a glimpse of thenational launch of the NBS 2001calendar which features 12 storiesof people who owe their life toblood donors.

Yasmin Le Bon (above) joinedus at Hamley’s toy store in Londonfor the calendar launch, meetingtwo very special people -18-month-old Beth Heaton and JoMcAuliffe, 29. Without blooddonors, neither of them would bealive today.

Beth was diagnosed withaplastic anaemia when she wasfour months old. She depended ontransfusions of red blood cells andplatelets to keep her alive until asuitable bone marrow donor wasfound.

Jo, a civilian staff member withThames Valley Police, has set atarget of recruiting 1,000 newdonors – because that is theamount of blood and bloodproducts she received duringtreatment for the acute andpotentially fatal disorder TTP(Thrombotic ThrombocytopaenicPurpura – reduced platelet cells inthe blood ).

Yasmin was delighted to help asshe has a personal friend whosechild needed blood for the firstthree years of his life.

Mike Fogden, Chairman of theNBS, said: “We were delightedthat Yasmin could join Beth and Joat Hamleys. Every day, around10,000 donations of blood areneeded to meet patients’ needs.”

Plymouth Argyle Football Team really dressed thepanto part when they met Billy and Shaun Williamsonto launch the calendar. Shaun was diagnosed with bonecancer in the knee and required many units of blood inhis treatment. The team were not wearing their newkit, but are all dressed up for their Christmas lunch!

Busy Billy’s fun-filled mission

Casualty star Ian Bleasdale teamed up with Billy and 10-year-old Victoria Turner, from Bristol, to launch thecampaign on the SS Great Britain. Victoria has a raretype of brain tumour and needed five whole bloodtransfusions during her treatment. She is one of the 12recipients featured in the Christmas Calendar.

Above: In Bodmin the local FireBrigade was on hand to help. WithBilly and the crew is Jade Tabb, aBodmin 12-year-old who neededblood and platelets during a successfuloperation to remove a brain tumour.

● (No picture) Two other recipientsfrom the Trent region who feature inthe calendar helped launch it locally.While young Bradley Osborne fromNottingham, who is “December”,went along to meet Billy Blood Dropat the Nottingham Blood DonorCentre, Tim Wood “ March”, fromDoncaster joined a training session atBrendan Ingle’s world-famous gym.

In the West Midlands, Billy Blood Drop was kept busy helping withfour launches. He met Mandy Rhodes, who features in the calendar,and her husband Les, who is a platelet donor at Birmingham DonorCentre. Mandy’s life was saved by blood and platelets after shedeveloped aplastic anaemia

Panto stars bring smiles on the wards

It was goody bags and balloons forall when the cast of local pantoDick Whittington joined Billy tovisit youngsters at Torbay Hospital.

A young patient atPinderfields Children’sHospital in Wakefield

meets Billy and castmembers from Jack and

the Beanstalk.

Above: Yasmin Le Bon (left) with recipient JoMcAuliffe and NBS Chairman Mike Fogden

When Joel Renak died in1994 aged 4 from arare form of liver

cancer, it must have seemedunthinkable that anything positivecould come out of such a tragedy.And yet Joel’s parents, Lisa andLeigh Renak, channelled their griefinto an amazingly life-affirmingproject, the Joely Bear Appeal.

“When the Renaks’ son died, agreat many people came forwardasking what they could do tohelp?”, explains Lakshmi Vishram,Marketing Co-ordinator at theNational Blood Service. “Theyturned round and said: ‘What youcan do is go and give blood’”. TheJoely Bear Appeal was born.

How donor sessions startedLakshmi Vishram describes howthe National Blood Service first gotinvolved with the Joely BearAppeal.

“One of the NBS directors saidto the Renaks: ‘You’re bringing us alot of blood donors - how about wecome to you instead?’ That’s howthe first collaborative bloodsessions were set up. Now all the

NBS does is provide a trained bloodcollection team. The Joely BearAppeal even finds a venue for us,which we simply assess to makesure it meets all our strict criteria,especially health and safety

HELPERS

Do we have anyvolunteers?

But the Renaks didn’t stopthere. They realised that the JoelyBear Appeal had potential andbegan sponsoring holidays forseriously ill children and formingsupport groups for parents goingthrough similar experiences.

The Joely Bear Appeal has alsocreated substantial grants forresearch into the treatment andearly detection of cancer inchildren, and is investigating theuse of placental cord blood as apossible replacement for bonemarrow transplants. And they haveof course, campaigned to promotethe importance of giving blood,including running three blooddonor sessions a year!

“The Joely Bear Appeal is justone of many ways volunteers helpthe NBS,” says Lakshmi Vishram.

“We have regular volunteerswho help out on the marketingside, enabling us to be moreefficient. One woman, MaggieHackney, acts as our local eyes andears in the Hitchin area, spottingnew developments springing up,like industries and businesses,housing, cinema complexes orgyms, and helps pave the way forus to promote blood donationsessions there.”

Other kinds of helpFifty-six year old Nancy Shavick hasalso become something of a starvolunteer at the NBS, participatingin the Joely Bear blood sessions, aswell as going the more traditionalroutes. Since 1962 she has madeover 500 apheresis donations and isa regular at the Edgware DonorCentre. She’s even been called uponto donate blood to allow a baby tohave an artery operation. Nancyadmits: ‘I helped saved the baby’slife and it was one of the mostsatisfying moments of my life.’

standards. We also work closelywith local media and within theJewish community around theHertfordshire/North London area.’

The Renaks are nothing if notcreative in their approach. Alldonors who come to give blood areput on a mailing list, and aresubsequently sent raffle tickets,newsletters, and invitations to thevarious events. Each year, theappeal dreams up new fundraisingactivities and ideas, like balls,dinner dances, sponsored bikerides and film premieres.

Over £200,000 raisedThe appeal, which has alreadyraised over £200,000, was initiallyset up to provide facilities whichwould help improve stays inhospital for young cancer patientsand their families.

Things like comfy chair-bedsand kitchen facilities, adventureplaygrounds within the grounds ofthe hospital, TVs and videos, booksand studying equipment for longterm patients.

THE DONOR SPRING 2001 7

Giving blood, pouring tea at donor sessions...how else can people help the NBS? Withenergy and imagination volunteers can make adifference to the business of blood donation

The NBS welcomes all different kinds of voluntary help, but needsvary around the country, whether its making tea at a session,recruiting more donors or simply raising awareness. If you want to try and do something really amazing to help the NBS,why not see if you can find enough people to donate and organiseyour own session. This could be possibly at your work place, or inthe local neighbourhood, and you would need to be able to getpeople to give blood three times a year. There are strict guideleines,but it’s not impossible to do, as you can see from this article. For all information about organising donation sessions or helpingin other ways, please write to: Volunteers, FREEPOST, NBS, 75 Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 7YB.

● For more information about the Joely Bear Appeal, how you canhelp, or join in with their regular blood donation sessions, pleasetelephone (020) 8953 5455, or email: joelybear@ybpconsultants.co.uk

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How you can help

Leigh and Lisa Renak, with NBScontact Lakshmi Vishram, makinga real difference through theirimaginative campaign

Billy also joined the stars during the festive campaign, linking up with pantomimecharacters to bring smiles to children’s wards in hospitals all around England.

Alook back at howthings used to be!

These two photographswere taken at a NationalBlood Service donor session on 13 April 1954and have been sent in bystaff member AlanDevenish, Scientific &Technical Trainer, whosefather is among thedonors having tea(above).

Going back even further - to 1936, more than adecade before the NBS was formed - is this letter, aboveright, sent to donor Frank Apperley, of Harborne inBirmingham. It tells him what his blood was used for,where, who the doctor was - plus a bit of backgroundabout the patient and the happy news that she went onto make a complete recovery.

It was sent in by his son, Richard Apperley, whoworks for the NBS in Birmingham.

The way we were

THE DONATION REVIEW

THE DONOR SPRING 2001 9Don’t forget the new number 0845 7 711 711

Donors love giving blood,but hate waiting to do it.“Waiting times are now

the single biggest cause of complaints from donors and prob-ably the highest cause of donorsnot returning,” says Richard Fry,NBS Director of Services to Donors.Heeding these complaints, inJanuary the NBS began the biggestever review of the way blood is collected. It will take about a yearto complete and covers the wholeof England and North Wales.

One key aim of the review is forall donors to be able to donate

THE DONATION REVIEW

8 THE DONOR SPRING 2001 Find out where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

What this means for you!We have been listening to our donors and that is why we havelaunched the biggest review of the donation process everundertaken. This review is looking at everything we do thataffects you, and as a result of it you will see:

● Shorter waiting times ● Greater efficiency at every stage of your donation● Courteous and friendly treatment throughout● Modernised methods ● A consistent and truly national service

And at the same time we will sustain our worldwide reputationfor the best clinical standards

within 30 minutes of arriving attheir session. Another is to makethe 92 mobile teams and 23permanent donor centres operateto the same high standards so thatdonors receive a consistent servicewherever they are.

Why donors waitWaiting times have crept upbecause of new, more exactinghealth and safety standards –

improved blood safety has sloweddown the donation process. The tick-box questionnaire, forexample, introduced several yearsago, added ten minutes to thewaiting time.

Of course any changes resultingfrom the review must notcompromise blood safety in any

way, but Richard Fry hopes that athorough top-to-bottom look at thewhole donation process willhighlight areas where efficiency canbe improved. “We will be reviewingcurrent practices and seeing wherewe can make changes to improvethe overall Service. The scope of thiswill be from the time a donor

Q: How do you keep 2 million donors happy?Hilary and the York Team, left, already improving life for donors. Above, giving blood and having a laugh at Stamford Bridge,Yorkshire

Above left, checking progress during the session at Stamford BridgeAbove, the new donor card reduces waiting time Left, a chance to catch up on important new donor information

A: With a fast, efficient blood donation service.Read how a new NBS review aims to deliver just that

arrives to departure.“ Focus groupsfrom around the country will helpthe NBS collect the views of donorsand make sure its plans match theirwishes.

Another key area of the reviewwill be session opening hours. “We intend to ask a representativenumber of donors from all areas for their views on session hours, and we will draw up a plan to moveto the preferred times,” saysRichard Fry.

Sessions to suitMany donors want an appointmentsystem, and the NBS has run variouspilot schemes. These demonstratedthat while many donors want to beable to book an appointment,others prefer to simply turn up, andit is important that neither groupinconveniences the other.

Also donors have certainexpectations of an appointmentssystem – that bookings andchanges to appointments can bemade up to the day of the session.Such flexibility isn’t possible yet, butRichard Fry and his team are lookingat making it so as part of the overallmodernisation programme.

A review as thorough as this willtake time to complete andimplement, particularly where thereis a need to re-train all staff. Donorswon’t see change overnight, but

the NBS does promise to keep youup to date with progress throughThe Donor or with information atsessions.

Looking aheadChanges for the better are alreadyin place up in York, where a newlocality based team has been set upas part of the NBS’s modernisationprogramme. Staff are local, so theyknow the area and its people. Theteam of 22 is currently workingthree days a week covering a largearea of Yorkshire.

The team’s emphasis is ongetting to know the donors,building their trust and confidence,while offering an efficient andflexible service. Donor cards which

are used nationally carry all thedetails of a donor, save precioustime in the donation process.Another improvement is extendedopening times for sessions, whichare not interrupted for staff breaks.

Donors are enthusiastic aboutthe new team. Says one, “A veryefficient session - friendly andpainless! This is the first time I havegiven blood to the York team - I willbe back.”

York Team Manager Sister HilaryFord is equally enthusiastic. “It’svery rewarding to see that donorsappreciate the team’s positiveapproach and the changes we havemade to the way that sessions arerun. We are enjoying getting toknow our patch and its donors.”

And finally, the best part of all... tea!

“This will be the biggest single change to the NBS blood collection service ever

undertaken. It is essential that we implement a standard, faster donation

process as soon as we can”Richard Fry NBS Director of Services to Donors

Vanessa Hook, known asTess to friends and colleagues, is a Senior

Biomedical Scientist in theAntenatal Section of the busy RedCell Immunohaematology Depart-ment at the Sheffield Centre. Shejoined the National Blood Servicein 1987 and has since gained botha BSc and MSc in PathologicalSciences.

A typical day starts well beforeshe arrives at the Sheffield Centre,as she takes her Rottweiler, Jason,for a three-mile walk beforebreakfast. Once at work the daybegins liaising with other seniorstaff who supervise the 19laboratory staff.

Busy daysThe department has two sections,Antenatal and Hospital Referrals.The Antenatal section tests almost90,000 blood samples a year frompregnant women throughout theTrent Region.

“On a busy day we can have as

many as 600 blood samples to test.Each sample is blood grouped,virology screened and tested for red cell antibodies. Much of thetesting is done by machine and the majority of our patients willhave negative results,” says Tess.“However, there are a few patientswho have antibodies which we

MY LIFE: Vanessa HookBiomedical Scientist, Sheffield Blood Centre

Tess sets a tough paceSome babies need a bit of help to be bornhealthy. Biomedical scientist Tess Hook is partof a team performing vital ante-natal bloodtests on mothers that save babies’ lives

investigate in more detail. This is todetermine whether the antibodiesare likely to cause problems for thebaby during pregnancy.”

Close monitoringPatients with significant antibodiesare closely monitored at regularintervals during their pregnancies.“Some patients are tested everytwo weeks so we become quitefamiliar with their names,” shesays, “and it is always nice when weget samples from mum and baby atdelivery and everything is alright.”

Testing the blood of pregnant women is a vital partof antenatal care. As well as picking up conditions like anaemia, diabetes and the presenceof any viruses, it also pinpoints which babies are atrisk from the mother’s immune system. Sometimesher antibodies attack antigens (proteins) on thebaby’s red blood cells, with serious or even fatalresults (see story opposite on page 11).

Donated blood can be vital for these babies, asmany need transfusions in the womb, or soonafter birth. Injections of antibodies extracted fromdonated blood can also help prevent problems inwomen planning further pregnancies, by “deacti-vating” their damaging immune response.

How screening saves lives

Tess also works closely with theHospital Referral section as thepatients with antibodies or theirbabies may require bloodtransfusions at delivery orsometimes even before delivery.The staff from the HospitalReferrals section then select andcrossmatch special blood productsto send to the hospital looking aftermum and baby.

In addition to supervising theday-to-day running of theAntenatal section, and occasionally“filling in” when one of the otherstaff is on leave or sick, Tess answersmany queries from midwives,doctors and hospital blood banks.“Sometimes the phone never stopsringing all day! But now that wehave a National ComputerDatabase we can usually provide allthe information needed.”

At the end of the day when allthe samples have been tested andthe reports are ready to be sent tothe midwives and doctors, Tessdrives home to Barnsley andteaches step and aerobic classes ata local gym. “There is no better wayto relieve the stresses of the daythan putting a class full of peoplethrough physical torture,” she says.

10 THE DONOR SPRING 2001 Find out where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

Left: At the end of the day, timeto put people through their paces

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“and it is always nicewhen we get samplesfrom mum and baby

at delivery andeverything is alright.”

A busy day can see Tess processing 600 tests

Ababy with just a 1%chance of being bornalive has arrived fit and

healthy thanks to blood donorsand pioneering medical treatment.

Baby James was at risk becausehis mother, Nicola Sibley,developed rhesus haemolyticdisease, a condition in which her

immune system antibodies couldcross the placenta and attack him inthe womb.

Eventually, Jame’s red bloodcells would have beenoverwhelmed and he would havesuffered heart failure.

Nicola, from Blaby in Leicester-shire, had already lost two babies in this way. But baby James David (named after ProfessorJames who helped save him)survived because of a revolutionarytechnique which blocked theimmune system attack and usedblood transfusions to keep himalive.

Professor David James, ofQueen’s Medical Centre inNottingham, first gave the baby avaccine of antibodies, calledimmunoglobulin, at 13 weeks - viaa drip to a tiny vein developing inhis liver - to protect his blood cellsfrom antibody attack.

Then at 16 weeks Jamesreceived a series of nine bloodtransfusions, given directly into avein in the abdomen.

Nicola was also given treatmentto suppress the immune responsethat was threatening the baby.

Thriving babyBorn at 34 weeks, James hasthrived ever since, and his mumsays: “It’s a miracle to me because Inever thought I would haveanother child, and he’s just lovely. Itwas a 99% chance that I wouldlose the baby, and we are sograteful to the professor and histeam.”

Doctors have been able to carryout blood transfusions in thewomb after the 20th week ofpregnancy for some years, butrhesus haemolytic diseasesometimes strikes before then anduntil Professor James developed hisnew treatment nothing could bedone to combat it. About ahundred pregnancies in the UK arethreatened each year in this way.

NEW TECHNOLOGY

Surviving against the oddsNicola Sibley had already lost two babiesbecause of a rare immune response. But thanksto a pioneering technique – and vital bloodproducts – this pregnancy had a happy ending.

THE DONOR SPRING 2001 11Don’t forget the new number 0845 7 711 711

‘O’ Group‘O’ group is the most

common blood group,and it can be given to

people with adifferent blood group,

that’s why we needlots of it.

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The red blood cells of babies carry antigens (proteins) on their surface from both parents.

These antigens may provoke the formation of anti-bodies. Sometimes, when the mother is Rhesus (Rh)D negative blood type and the father Rh D positive,the baby’s blood is attacked by anti D antibodywhich is made by the mothers’ immune system fol-lowing a previous pregnancy. Babies can becomeanaemic in the womb and require transfusions ofred cells (intrauterine transfusions ) to survive.

Nowadays cases are rare thanks to preventativetreatment. Before then about 1000 babies a year diedof Rhesus disease in the UK. Now anti D is routinelygiven to Rh negative pregnant women to preventsuch tragedies. However, this is not an infallible treat-ment, and intrauterine transfusions may still be need-ed during pregnancies in a small number of cases.

Group O Rh (D) negative donors are needed toprovide these important blood products. Blood fromdonors has to be concentrated to provide a high redcell content in a volume small enough to be trans-fused into a foetus. In addition donor blood must befree of any red cell antibodies – which could attackthe baby’s blood – and be negative for the CMVvirus, which is carried by about half the population,and harmless if transfused to an adult but potentially fatal to an unborn baby.

Tiny babies like James cannot be transfused in thewomb in the first half pregnancy and the only alter-native is to give an immunoglobulin vaccine, whichprotects blood cells from attack. About 200 intrauter-ine transfusions of red blood cells were given lastyear in the South East alone. Each pregnant womanmay have 2-5 transfusions during the pregnancy.

Blood products that save livesJames survived thanks in part to blood products from donated blood

“It’s a miracle tome because

I never thought I would have

another child, andhe’s just lovely.“

OVER TO YOU

RECIPE

IS IT TRUE THAT...

This is your chance to tell us your news, views and interesting or unusual donor stories. Write to Carlene Dias, Editor, The Donor, National Blood Service,Southmead Road, Bristol, BS10 5ND.

QI have asthma and wouldlike to donate. Will my

condition prevent me?

AThere is nothing to stop youfrom giving blood provided

you only need to use an inhaler.You can check with your doctorabout this first to make sure.

QMy doctor has told me I willneed an operation soon

and have had tests to check onmy progress. Should I stillcontinue with giving blood?

AWe don’t recommend givingblood if you are on a hospital

waiting list or undergoing medicaltests. Check with your doctor orwith our helpline to find out more.

QAs a child I had glandularfever. Will this stop me

from becoming a donor?

AIf you have fully recoveredthere’s no reason why you

can’t give blood. You can alwaysask the staff at a session, as theywill take your full medical historybefore you can donate.

QI have been a regulardonor for many years

and have reached an age when HRT treatment is beingrecommended. I would like tocontinue with donating but amunsure whether the HRT drugswill affect my blood and stopme from giving?

AWe have lots of ladies whogive blood whilst receiving

HRT treatment, so please donate as usual.

12 THE DONOR SPRING 2001 Find where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

Every dog has his day ...I have received a copy of The Donorand thought you might like thisstory - even my dog’s a donor!

I am a keen blood donor andhave chalked up over 60 donations,and one of my daughters is now a

regular donor. But I wasn’texpecting one of my dogs to join inas well.

When I came home from workone evening I saw that Guinness -one of a pair of lurcher brotherswho are part of the family - had afreshly shaved patch on his neckand was not wearing his collar. My wife and another daughterwork in a local vet’s. They had aspaniel taken in which had suffered internal bleeding and wasseriously in need of blood, so thevet said to my wife, “Go and getone of your dogs!” So Guinnessduly “volunteered”.

I enclose a picture of the newdonor (he’s still waiting for the

WRVS to bring round a bone) andhis brother Murphy is very jealousof all the attention he has hadsince.DAVE MONK

SUDBURY, SUFFOLK

Thank youDuring my chemotherapy I required12 units of blood, and as I cannotthank these twelve peoplepersonally, I can only thank themthrough this letter to you.

I also thank you for the job thatyou do – at times it must bestressful when you know thatcertain groups are low. I am A Pos, acommon group but still needed allthe same.

So my thanks and my wife’s, goto the twelve that saved my life. Thewonderful twelve I call them, asthey have given me the gift of lifewhen I could easily have died.

So many thanks to allconcerned and if I could donate aunit or two myself, I can assure you Iwould be the first in the queue.DEREK PARKER

ECTON BROOK

And two make fiftyMy husband Ron, and I have beenblood donors for over 20 years andhave never seen your magazinebefore.

We both received one in thepost yesterday and I have read itfrom cover to cover. I found it veryinformative plus it was great to getto know what else goes on behindthe scenes.

I admire the NBS and the workthey do: that is why I have done mybest to donate on a regular basis.

In 1991 my husband had a caraccident and required surgery for aknee injury. He needed blood, sothis once again confirmed myadmiration and support for yourorganisation.

We have now both given 49pints and are delighted that we aredue to give our 50th pint at thesame session, in the near future. Ican’t wait to get my badge. Not

Drain and rinse kidney beans. In a thick bottom large saucepanheat a little oil and gently fry the onion, carrot and garlic forabout 5 minutes. Add chilli powder and cook for about a minute.Add the kidney beans and tinned tomatoes, stirring gently. Bringto boil, then simmer with the lid off for about 15 minutes. Addcelery, carrots and if the mixture looks too thick, a little stock. Simmer until all the vegetables are tender and tomatoes andstock are well-mixed and thickened – about 20 minutes. Adjustseasoning and serve with rice or naan bread.

TO SERVE 4 to 62 x 400g tins red kidney beans1 x 400g tin peeled chopped

plum tomatoes1 medium onion,chopped1 clove garlic, chopped2 medium courgettes,

chopped into 2cm longchunks

2 celery sticks cut into 2cmpieces

2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into 2cm chunks

200 ml vegetable stock 1 tsp chilli powder or to tasteOil for fryingSalt

bad eh, 100 pints between us. My husband and I thought

about doing something in additionwhen one of our friend’s childrenwas diagnosed with leukaemia.When I read your magazine lastnight, we were both upset to readthat we were too old to join thebone marrow register, as we areboth in our 50s.

We are unsure what else we cando, but rest assured we willcontinue to donate regularly aslong as our health allows.

Keep up the good work. I shallbe looking at your website in thenear future.DENISE CACKETT

KNOTTINGLEY

We answer some of your questions about donating

Due to shortage of space not all publishedletters are shown in full. Whilst we wel-come your letters, we cannot guaranteea reply or to publish them. However, anycomplaints raised will be responded tovia our complaints procedure.

Vegetarian chilliMeat free but still packed with protein, fibre, vitamins, and lots ofspicy flavour – this delicious vegetarian chilli recipe makes theperfect Spring supper. Chilli too hot? Natural yoghurt puts outthe fire perfectly (and adds protein) – stir a little into eachportion, or serve in a bowl on the side with a garnish of choppedcoriander.

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THE DONOR SPRING 2001 13

Easter is coming, but beforeyou trip off for a well-earnedbreak, spare a thought for

the hospitals and patients who stillrely on blood donations – evenwhen donors are away.

Bank Holiday weekends andfour day holidays such as Easter andChristmas are a real headache forthe National Blood Service becauseso many people go away, or arebusy with friends and family andcan’t find the time to donate.

‘Red cells are not such a problem– they have a shelf life of 35 daysafter collection and so we can buildup stocks before a holiday. It’splatelets which are the problem –they have a five day shelf life, so wecannot stockpile them,’ explain LizCaffrey, national lead consultant ofServices to Donors. ‘ We do what wecan by collecting as many plateletsas possible the day before the publicholidays, to cover hospital needsover the whole period. Even then we

may need to run additional sessionsover the four day holidays to ensurethere are enough fresh bloodproducts.You can imagine that byday five stocks are running prettylow, and yet demand for plateletsstays the same.’

Why are platelets so vital to theNBS? These small blood cells areessential for normal blood clotting,and seriously ill patients with cancerand other disorders need regularplatelet transfusions to prevent life-threatening spontaneous bleeding.

Give before you goIf you’re a donor already, you canreally help the blood service byremembering to ‘give before yougo’ – a campaign which was a greatsuccess last summer. Or you canvolunteer to donate blood by aprocess called apheresis, which is amethod of extracting only one typeof blood cell – such as platelets or redcells – and returning the remainder

PLATELET COLLECTION

Why the long Good Friday is tough for the Blood Service

of the blood to the donor. Says Liz Caffrey, ‘Apheresis is very

useful because we can select donorsfor specific blood or tissue type, andthen call them in for an

Platelets are vital to many seriously ill patients.But stocks take a dip over public holiday weekends so the National Blood Service needsyour support to keep supplies flowing.

Jeffrey Partridge isonly 48 but has givenmore than 1000donations! He beganas a whole blooddonor, but thenbecame a plateletdonor, which allowedhim to give far morefrequently. Jeffrey,from Linton inCambridgeshire, is pictured above with his award ofa crystal decanter at the Cambridge Donor Centre.

Asked what he would say to people who have notgiven blood, he replied, “Go and try it just once, it is soeasy to give blood.” He should know!

Jodie, pictured right, is five and a leukaemiasufferer who has needed regular platelet transfusionsas part of her treatment. Jodie is seen here with her

grandfather John Say, who is a platelet donor, his wifeand Fatima Whitbread, at the opening of the newlyrefurbished Brentwood Donor Suite. Thanks toplatelet donations from people like Jeffrey and Johnpatients like Jodie achieve amazing results, whichJohn can see first hand.

Don’t forget the new number 0845 7 711 711

appointment. It’s especially effectivefor collecting platelets becausedonors can give much morefrequently, up to once a fortnight.Because only platelets are extractedfrom the blood, all the red cells arereturned to the donor and there isno risk of anaemia. Also one donorcan provide enough platelets tomake what we call an AdultTherapeutic Dose (ATD). If we usewhole blood donations, we need touse four or five units, which meansfour or five donors.’

Typically the apheresis donationis taken from the arm, spun in aspecial machine to separate out theplatelets, and the remainingcomponents are returned to thedonor as part of the same process.Because of the special equipmentneeded, apheresis can only takeplace at the 19 permanent NBSsites in England, which may openspecially over holiday weekends tocollect vital platelet donations.

Platelet donors are life-savers

Liz Caffrey promoting the ‘Givebefore you go’ message

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RESEARCH

The right kind of thank you

different region, perhaps whereyou worked, you would havereceived a different award forreaching the same milestone.”

To put things right, last Augustthe NBS asked Crispin Wickendenand the market researchdepartment to look into donorawards to find out what peoplereally wanted. At 100 separate

locations across the country, 1900whole blood donors were askedtheir views on the current awardscheme, how it could be improved,

and what form awards should take.This was analysed by Crispin andthe awards scheme was reviewed.

Milestone awardsThe vast majority of donors (90%)support awards as a way of saying thank-you. Particularlypopular are milestone awardsmade after 10, 25, and 50donations. The 50th donation in

You could say we’ve got a fresh attitude to gratitude! The NBS is launching a newawards scheme that will give donors aroundthe country the very best sort of thank-you

donations will receive a special pen, 75th will be given anEdinburgh Crystal plate, and thosemaking their 100th donation willreceive an Edinburgh Crystaldecanter. Both 75th and 100thwill also have the option ofD

AV

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REMEMBERDonors can give

blood three times a year

14 THE DONOR SPRING 2001 Find out where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

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As a result of thesurvey, in the

coming months abrand new

awards scheme isbeing rolled out.

Everyone likes to be thankedwhen they do somethinggood, and donors are no

exception. The only trouble wasthat until recently the NBS wassaying thank-you in different waysto different donors, depending onwhere they lived. While someregions might, for example, offeran awards presentation at the50th donation milestone, othersmay not. This was confusing fordonors, and seemed unfair.

“We have to hold up our hands.Due to the old structure we weren’tbeing consistent,” admits CarolineOsborne, NBS head of marketingservices. “The differences go backto the fact that before we became anational service, every region hadits own way of doing awards. Thismeant you could read a story in thelocal paper about donors receivingone type of award where you lived,but because you gave blood in a

particular seemed to be considereda remarkable achievement thatmerited special recognition. Butdonors are a modest lot, and onlywanted some sort of token ofappreciation plus a big thank-you.Grandiose presentations were notwhat most wanted.

As a result of the survey, in thecoming months a brand newawards scheme is being rolled out.Every donor achieving 10, 25, 50,75 and 100 donations will receive apin-brooch, certificate, letter ofthanks, and a new donor card.

In addition veterans of 50

The NBS probably has more information on thatquestion than any other blood service in theworld, thanks to its Market Research and AnalysisDepartment. Set up in 1998.

The department’s team of four uses a combination of data analysis and market researchtechniques to provide all-important informationabout donors, identify major trends in blood collection and demand.

“Blood donors and blood are a preciousresource,” says department head Crispin

Wickenden. “Over the years medical advances haveincreased the demand for blood. Unfortunately thenumber of people donating seems to be levellingoff, therefore we have to do as much as we can toensure that the donors we have continue to givetheir much needed support.”

He adds, “We are working to understand thetype of people who become donors, and how theirpattern of donation changes over time…In all ofthis the needs of the patient and the safety of thedonor are paramount.”

What makes donors tick?

attending an award ceremony.“We will try to ensure that the

transition to this new nationalawards scheme is as smooth aspossible,” says Caroline.

“We really have listened to whatdonors want in the way ofrecognition, and we hope the newawards show them just how muchthey are valued,’ added Caroline.

Don’t worry, we’ve notforgotten about apheresis donors.A new awards scheme will bedeveloped for this special group assoon as we have spoken with themin detail.

Left: When it comes to donorresearch, Cripin’s the expert

LONDON Edgware Deansbrook Road Clinic,Edgware HA8 9BDTel: 020 8732 5460Tooting 75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting, SW17 0RBTel: 020 8258 8368 West End 26 Margaret Street, W1N 7LBTel: 020 7301 6900

NORTH EASTBradford Rawson Road(Behind John StreetMarket), Bradford BD1 3SHTel: 0113 2148653Leeds Bridle Path, Leeds LS15 7TWTel: 0113 214 8653 9, St Paul's Street, Leeds LS1 2JG Tel: 0113 2148653Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Holland Drive, Newcastle NE2 4NQTel: 0191 219 4405

Sheffield Cathedral Court,Church Street,Sheffield S1 1NWTel: 0114 203 4700

NORTH WESTLancaster PO Box 111,Royal Lancaster Infirmary,Ashton Road, Lancaster, LA1 4GTTel: 01524 306250Liverpool Lord Street, Liverpool L2 1TSTel: 0151 551 8889Manchester Plymouth Grove,Manchester M13 9LLTel: 0161 251 4218 Manchester City Norfolk House,(behind Tesco Metro)corner of Brown Street & NorfolkStreet, Manchester M2 1DWTel: 0161 251 5100

MIDLANDSBirmingham 65 New Street, Birmingham B2 4DHTel: 0121 253 8220 Leicester 84 Vaughan Way, Leicester LE1 4SJTel: 0116 262 6238Nottingham Castle House, Castle Boulevard,Nottingham NG7 1FRTel: 0115 958 9588Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital,Headington, Oxford, OX3 9DUTel: 01865 447939Stoke-on- Trent Belmont Road,Etruria (Adjacent EtruriaPark) Stoke-on-Trent ST1 4BT Tel: 01782284600

SOUTH EASTLuton St Georges Square, Bridge Street,Luton LU1 2NFTel: 01582 681 900

Cambridge Long Road, Cambridge, CB2 2PTTel: 01223 548001Brentwood Crescent Drive, Brentwood,Essex, CM15 8DPTel: 01277 306133

SOUTH WESTBristol Grounds of Southmead Hospital,Southmead Road,Bristol, BS10 5NDTel: 0117 991 2040Gloucester 59 London Road, Gloucester GL1 3HFTel: 01452 361800Plymouth Derriford Hospital, Derriford Road,Plymouth, PL6 8DHTel: 01752 617815Southampton Coxford Road,Southampton SO16 5AFTel: 023 8029 6708

NBS INFORMATION

For your information, here are details on our permanent BloodDonor Centres. If, for any reason, your local donor session is nolonger suitable, then it may be more convenient for you to attendone of our permanent Blood Donor Centres. We would ask you toplease call the relevant number below to find out the openingtimes and book an appointment or whether you can just turn up.

Alternatively, you can call our new National Donor Helpline on

0845 7 711 711 or visit our Website at www.blood.co.uk to findout details of alternative local blood donor sessions in your area.

Our Donor Helpline is available 24 hours a day, where experi-enced operators are there to assist you. As a valued donor we donot want to lose your support, so please let us know if you are mov-ing, or your personal details have changed. That way your recordswill always be accurate. All calls are charged at local call rate.

Don’t forget, the new Donor Helpline number is

0845 7 711 711ALL CALLS ARE CHARGED AT LOCAL CALL RATE

We always need new donors. So please, if you

are not a donor, fill out the coupon, place it

in an envelope and send it to National Blood

Service, FREEPOST, 75 Cranmer Terrace,

London SW17 7YB, or call 0845 7 711 711

now to enrol as a blood donor.

THE DONOR SPRING 2001 15Don’t forget the new number 0845 7 711 711

Please note that the permanent blood donor centres will not deal with general enquiries or concerns, the number to ring for any information or concerns is the National Donor Helpline on 0845 7 711 711.

SURNAME

Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss

FIRST NAME

DATE OF BIRTH / /

ADDRESS

POSTCODE

DAYTIME PHONE No

To give blood you need to be in good health, aged 17-60 and weigh over 7st 12lbs. MO6

Register with us on the WebEnrol now and keep in touch the hi-tech way,

via our Website. The address is

www.blood.co.uk

Permanent Blood Donor Sites

“This is my way ofthanking the NBS”

Until December 13th 1998,I had been a professionalskydiving instructor and

international competitor. On thatday I had dressed up as SantaClaus to carry out a parachutedemonstration for the fans at theAston Villa v Arsenal game. But myperformance didn’t quite goaccording to plan. Apparently (Ican’t remember what happened)on approach to the Trinity ParkStand at Villa Park, I bounced offthe roof and impacted close to theplayers’ tunnel.

The match was held up for 20minutes while I was taken off tohospital where I was given a 50/50chance of survival. Somehow Ipulled through, with the help ofexpert medical care and 120 pints ofblood from the Birmingham Blood

Bank, but several months later I hadto have my left leg amputated.

Since my accident I’ve becomevery interested in the NBS. Likemost people I didn’t know muchabout them until I needed them.

Now I’m hoping to raise theprofile of the NBS with an ‘AroundBritain Canoe Team Challenge’(ABC Challenge). I used to runmarathons, but I wanted to do

something really difficult! The planis to circumnavigate the UK by seain one-man kayaks with my friendDavid Abrutat, whom I met inrehabilitation after my amputation.Like me, David had received largequantities of blood, in his case aftera serious road traffic accident, andhe was a keen as me to givesomething back to the NBS.

The plan is to complete the3000-mile journey (in a challenging90-day window) in summer 2002.An offshore vessel will carry a crewand support team so we can eat,rest and shelter if necessary, at seawithout needing to come ashoreevery day.

We will be coming ashore atintervals for publicity opportunities,and we’re hoping that an NBSblood mobile can shadow ourjourney on land too.

As far as we know no one hascircumnavigated the UK in a canoebefore – Ireland yes, but not the UK– but we are checking that. We areactively looking for sponsors, andhave already managed to find an ITsponsor. Ideally we would like to be

able to charter a vessel and crewwhich the sponsor would pay for.There may even be a largeorganisation out there with a vesselwe could use.

We’ll be undergoing specialtraining of course for thischallenge, because although I havedone quite a bit of canoeing, seakayaking is quite tricky because ofthe tides and the weather. Oursupport team will know their wayaround the UK coast and be able toadvise us on tides, weatherconditions and so on.

The whole project has beendriven by my experience as asurvivor and now as an amputee.My life has changed a great dealsince the accident. Now, as myRoyal Air Force career regrettablydraws to an end and I look forwardto becoming a father (twins!) forthe first time in spring, I hope I cangive a little something back. Youcan’t give money to the NBS butyou can encourage people todonate blood, which is what wehope to achieve.

Want to help or get involvedeither as a team player or poten-tial sponsor? Send an email toABCChallenge@aol.com or writeto ABC Team Challenge, Jura,HR2 9JA where the project teamwill consider all enquiries.

When a parachute stunt went wrong, NigelRogoff needed 120 pints of blood to save his life. Two years on, he is planning a ratherunusual trip to raise the profile of the NBS and help recruit more donors

NEWS EXTRANigel Rogoff (right) with IanSherrington from GlenmoreLodge, on a training run close toKessock Bridge, Inverness

16 THE DONOR WINTER 2000 Don’t forget the new number 0845 7 711 711

REMEMBERWe need to collect10,000 units a day

every day,so please get along

and give now.

NIC

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“The plan is to complete

the 3000-milejourney in

summer 2002”