TheDonorNBS scientists’breakthrough

How a new test is saving the lives of babies

Zoë’s giftThe story of a tissue donor

NBS scientists’breakthrough

How a new test is saving the lives of babies

Zoë’s giftThe story of a tissue donor

FANCY THAT!Why Davina says “O thank you” pluseverything else you never knew about blood

FANCY THAT!Why Davina says “O thank you” pluseverything else you never knew about blood

NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL BLOOD SERVICE SPRING 2003 • FREE

A lot to say thank you for...

TheDonorCHECK OUT

OUR WEBSITE

www.blood.co.uk

2 THE DONOR SPRING 2003 Find out where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

WELCOME & CONTENTS

GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?We welcome your personal stories, questions and comments.Write to Penny Richardson, Editor, The Donor, NationalBlood Service, West Derby Street, Liverpool, L7 8TW.

Or contact us via our website, www.blood.co.uk where youcan also find out more about the National Blood Service.

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, writing, subbing, art direction, design and production Keith Hodgson and HilaryJoseph at Ant Creative (London). Reproduction – LDPG (London). Printed in the UK by Apple Web Offset plcon paper from sustainable forests.

3–5NEWS FEATURE & NEWSLatest news and stories from blood donors and recipients

6 CAMPAIGN NEWSFind out about the latest national campaign from around the UK

7 IN LIVING MEMORY OF ZOËZoë carried an organ donor card, so when she died her parentsknew what they must do

8 SECRETS IN THE BLOOD Fascinating facts about blood, plus why Davina McCall is saying“O thank you!”

10 LET’S DO THE SESSION RIGHT HERE!The behind-the-scenes story of setting up a session at a new venue

11 SAVING LIFE BEFORE BIRTHHow a new test developed by NBS scientists is helping safelydetect serious illness in unborn babies

12 OVER TO YOUCatch up with readers’ letters, plus health Q&As and webwatch

13 DAVE DOES IT ALLA day in the life of bone marrow panel administrator Dave Lee

14 TEAMWORK BRINGS A LITTLE SUCCESSHow donors, doctors and NBS staff pulled out all the stops to getlife-saving platelets to baby Louis

15 THE INFORMATION CENTREWhere to contact us with your donor queries, plus a Billy BloodDrop puzzle for the kids

16 THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF TIMEBlood donations can give the terminally ill precious extra timewith their families

In this Spring issue

Blood groups pages 8/9 Teamwork page 14

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

Hello and welcome to thefirst Donor magazine of 2003.

Christmas and New Yearwere busy times for us all,you can see our starstruckBilly Blood Drop in ourChristmas campaign roundup on page 6, with more

news from around the country on pages 4 and 5.‘A lot to say thank you for…’ is the theme of

this year’s campaign, and you can read all aboutit on page 3, plus details of our Special Awards.

‘In living memory of Zoë’ on page 7 tells howa family gained some comfort by carrying outtheir daughter’s wishes after she had died.

Just what makes a good donor session venue?Janet Hewitt thought she knew – was she right?– see page 10

As donors you’ll all know what blood groupyou are, but do you know why? The answer tothis question and much more about blood is tobe found in our fascinating centre pages feature.

We feature two special babies in this issue. Onpages 11 and 14 find out what part donors and theNBS played before Lydia and Louis were even born.Our News Extra, page 16, tells how importantblood transfusions were to Edmund Proctor andhow his family are encouraging blood donation.

And finally, responses to our first DonorSurvey have flooded in. Thanks to those of youwho took the time to complete the forms – yourviews really do matter! The survey aims to findout what donors think about the NBS and givingblood. The main results will be published in TheDonor, so keep your eyes peeled!

Penny RichardsonEditor

NEWS FEATURE

Become a bone marrow donor call 0845 7 711 711

We need to know about theseacts of inspiration and dedication.Tell us who you think has done something very special by nominating that individual,organisation or group.

Nominees could receive aRegional Special Award, and latergo forward for a National SpecialAward. Winners will attend a highprofile event in Spring 2004 wheredonors, supporters, recipients andstaff will all come together to becongratulated and thanked.

Making a nomination Special Awards are for donors,supporters (individuals andorganisations) and NBS staff.Anyone can send in any number ofnominations. Remember, we’relooking for individuals, groups ororganisations who have donesomething really special, and whomight not have been alreadyrecognised through existingchannels.

Either call our Donor Helpline on 0845 7 711 711 or email us atspecial.awards@nbs.nhs.uk and askfor an application form (only onenomination per form). The nomineewill be told their name has been putforward. The nominations deadline isTuesday 30 September 2003.

A lot to say thank you for…

THE DONOR SPRING 2003 3

Every year thousands of lives are saved becauseof the dedication of blood donors and the people who support the world of blood donation. This is the year we want to say a very special thank you to all of them

Sarajane, left, owes her life to bloodtransfusions. At 14 she was treatedfor aplastic anaemia. Then, aged 20,She was diagnosed with anotherblood disorder called paroxysmalnocturnal haemoglobinurea (PNH).Now 34, Sarajane receives monthlyblood transfusions to keep her alive.She is one of 12 recipients who havehelped us say thank you, by featur-ing on our 2003 calendar. If you havea story, please call our DonorHelpline on 0845 7 711 711.

Have you got a story to tell?

How do you say "Thank You" to the hundreds of thousands of people who

help the National Blood Serviceeither as donors, supporters or staff?

Well, we thought the best waywas to hold a whole series of eventsacross the country, involving asmany people as possible, tocelebrate the loyalty and dedicationof these people.

The ‘A lot to say thank you for…’campaign was launched in earlyMarch in London by Sir RichardBranson and is now rolling outnationally.

New awardsCurrent awards based on thenumbers of donations willcontinue, recognising thededication of our loyal donors. Butfor the new campaign, we’relaunching two new awards. Thefirst, ‘Supporter Loyalty Awards’,are for organisations that havesupported the NBS for more thantwo years. They will receive a‘Thank You’ plaque for theircontinued effort and commitment.

The second award is forindividuals and organisations thatdeserve extra recognition for extra-special effort. These ‘SpecialAwards’ are for those who havereally gone that extra mile – like therecipient and his family who ran a

marathon to spread the wordabout the importance of givingblood; and the team who, facedwith adverse weather and a frozen

lorry lift, transported all theequipment by hand to make sure ablood donor session continued.Then there was the person who,using contacts, championed a localrecruitment drive that gained over2,000 new donors. Plus, the bravesoul who selflessly overcame aserious needle phobia in order tobecome a blood donor.

More calendar stars: Nicky,above, needed skin donationsand blood following an accident,whilst Jack, right, needed bloodto get through chemotherapy

Calendar stars: Shamim, left, and David, above with his sister,both received bone marrowtransplants. Doug, right, neededblood during two heart operations

It was a proud day on Friday 8th November2002 when Elizabeth (Beth) Morris (above

centre), – a pupil at St Saviour CE PrimarySchool, Ringley, Radcliffe – returned toschool full time.

Six-year-old Beth had a bone marrowtransplant at the Royal ManchesterChildren’s Hospital in April to treatlymphoblastic leukaemia.

Because of the risk of infection followinga bone marrow transplant, Beth spent thefirst month after treatment in a controlledatmosphere unit at the hospital, and afurther five months at home where she wasonly able to see close family.

She was sent videos and letters fromclassmates and her grandfather brought

her beloved pony Molly to the frontwindow of the family home in HollowMeadow, Ringley so Beth could see him. But now Beth has taken one of her finalsteps on the road to recovery, by gettingback to her friends at school.

Beth needed regular transfusions ofblood and platelets whilst she waited for abone marrow match to be found. Beth usedto call this process ‘pinking’ as thetransfusions visibly changed her complexionfrom pale to a healthy pink.

During the initial few weeks after thetransplant she also received platelet andblood transfusions at least daily to supporther body until her new bone marrow beganto produce blood cells of its own.

‘Little miracle’ Elizabeth goes back to school

We are always lookingfor new and more

convenient ways for peopleto register as blood donors.And now Sky viewers can dojust that from the comfort oftheir armchair.

Interactive advertising onSky enables viewers to hitthe red button on theirhandset, which will thentake them to a separate‘digital advertiser location’where they will bepresented with moreinformation about the NBS.This offers a simple way of

registering interest inbecoming a blood donor.

Viewers don’t even haveto type in their address, asthe details already registeredwith Sky will be sent with thename and date of birthdetails submitted by theviewer.

The viewer will then besent a registration pack andan invitation to attend anearby blood donationsession.

So keep a look out for ouradverts on Sky and press thatlittle red button!

Less than a year ago, PaulKelly from Leyland was

fighting for his life.Paul knows that he is only

alive today due to the skill and dedication of paramedics, fire crews, airambulance crews, doctors,

nurses, physiotherapists –and blood donors!

Back in February last year,Paul fell into a mixingmachine at his business inChorley and blades on themachine severed his limbs.Surgeons worked non-stopto reattach his limbs but theycouldn’t save his left leg.

To say thank-you forsaving his life, Paul openedthe new Chorley blooddonor session. He is picturedleft, with donor carer JulieWatson and Harry Fishwick(right), who received 22 unitsof blood following anindustrial accident.

Yorkshire and the Northare due to launch two

new Bloodmobiles shortly.One vehicle will be forNewcastle and the other tocover the Yorkshire area.They will complement theexisting vehicle based inTeeside. This developmentwill allow the NationalBlood Service to offer

greater flexibility tocompanies or organisationswho wish to hold their ownsessions. If you work for acompany or organisationwhich would be interestedin holding a Bloodmobilesession, please contact us by calling 0845 7 711 711or visit our websitewww.blood.co.uk.

North East gets more blood mobiles

Sky watchers donate by button Right Royle Challenge reaches home straight

Two and four legs do the donating

Not only blood donors ofthe two legged, but also

the four-legged varietyshowed their support for theNBS as part of a new localinitiative.

Beechwood VeterinaryClinic in Kidsgrove,Staffordshire helped the NBSto raise awareness of the

need for human blooddonors locally, by visiting thesession with dogs that haddonated or received blood.

Unlike humans all dogshave the same blood group,but receive blood for similarreasons as humans do, suchas surgery.

Veterinary surgeon at theclinic, Luis Sainz Pardo wasinspired to give blood for the

first time and encouraged twoof his nurses to donate as well.

Luis said, “We loved theidea of this new initiative.There is nothing morerewarding than seeing one ofour patients who has beenreally poorly getting back toits usual self after receivingblood, it’s amazing.“

Although for Health andSafety reasons the dogs werenot allowed at the donationsession, they waitedpatiently outside and stillreceived their tea andbiscuits like any donor!

Pictured above is (left toright) Melissa Sutton,(trainee veterinary nurse),Bonnie, Vikki Webb (NBS),Blue and Kerry Bailey (NBS).

THE DONOR SPRING 2003 5

NEWS

Don’t forget the Helpline number 0845 7 711 7114 THE DONOR SPRING 2003

NEWS

You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465

Alan Runnette, aged 65, achartered engineer and

industrial consultant fromNingwood, Yarmouth, onthe Isle of Wight, has laidclaim to a new island recordfor blood donation.

Since becoming a blooddonor in 1958, Mr Runettehas given 135 pints – that’s 31more than previous recordholder David Mosling, aged70, from Newport, whoretired on 104!

And a determined Alanintends to continue givinguntil he reaches 150, which

In recent issues of The Donor, we’vebeen keeping you up to date on the

progress of the Donation Review. Toremind you – this is a complete rethinkand reorganisation of the way wecollect blood. Our aim is to improve ourservice to you, and shorten queue timeswhilst still maintaining our highstandards of donor and patient safety.

By now the postman is delivering allthe healthcheck paperwork to you at home before the session. We hopethis gives you plenty of time to completethe forms at your own pace. Arriving at the session with your completed form means you’ll be ready to donatemuch more quickly.

Many changes have been introduced

to our teams which are helping us toimprove our service. One of the morevisible changes is the option regulardonors have to leave the donation bedimmediately after giving blood - ratherthan the enforced rest period. You cannow spend a bit longer sampling ourworld famous tea!

Much behind-the-scenes workcontinues to make things even better onsession - we are only at the beginning.Watch this space!

Lekel Tuck’s mum Louise, knows just howimportant both blood and bone marrow

donors are – the toddler wouldn’t be alivetoday without them.

When he was just six-months-old, three-year-old Lekel of Barton Hill in Bristol wasdiagnosed with the rare blood disorder,haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)which affects just one in 50,000 children.

Lekel urgently needed a bone marrowtransplant. However, a perfect match

could not be found and regular bloodtransfusions kept him aliveuntil a suitable donor couldbe identified.

Just before Lekel’s firstbirthday, doctors wentahead with a transplantusing a non-perfect matchfrom a member of hisfamily. So far Lekel’stransplant seems to havebeen successful, howevernot everyone waiting for atransplant is so lucky.

Mum Louise said, "Anyparent knows how distressing it is whenyour child is ill, but I felt so helpless whenLekel was diagnosed and a match couldn’tbe found. Fortunately, Lekel is now doingwell, but we could so easily be in a positionwhere we were still waiting for a match,with no idea if we would ever find one. I would encourage anyone to become abone marrow donor because there are lotsof other people and children like Lekelwhose only chance of life is a transplant."

Little Lekel is on the mend

Blood and bone marrowrecipient, Lloyd Scott has

embarked on so manymadcap schemes to helpraise awareness for the NBSand CLIC (Cancer andLeukaemia in Childhood)charity, that he has become acelebrity!

Lloyd, who is a formerfireman, completed theLondon Marathon in a deepsea diver’s suit raising£150,000 – it took him fivedays eight hours 29 minutesand 46 seconds! He also ranin the New York Marathonand has recently beenaccepted to take part in a1,000 mile challenge whichlasts for six weeks.

The action man was guestof honour at a recent DonorAward Ceremony held at ahotel in Ingatestone, Essex,and he proved to be sopopular that he was signingautographs for 45 minutesat the end of the evening!

But the father of threereally thought he had hit thebig time when he arrived togive a talk at another DonorAward Ceremony, this time inCovent Garden.

Lloyd found the entranceswamped with TV camerasand reporters. Alas, theywere not for him, but tocover the fire-fightersnegotiations that were beingheld at the same venue!

A better service and better sessions

collecting an amazing 54new donors along the way!

Phil, from Mickleover inDerby, began ‘The RightRoyle Challenge’ in May2002, with a pledge tocelebrate his landmark 50thbirthday by running 50 milesin road races during the year.

However, instead ofcollecting sponsorshipmoney, he asked people tosign on as donors instead,setting himself a target of 50enrolments by the end.

The Challenge took in halfa dozen races from Londonand Wales to Nottingham.

By the time Phil finishedhis final race, the GreatNorth Run, in October 2002,he had already beaten histarget with 54 new donorsrecruited and rising.

Pictured above left is Philbeing awarded an engravedsilver plate and specialcertificate by staff nurse CarolBedford on behalf of the NBS,at a presentation in Derby.

An opening to say thanks

will coincide with hisretirement in 2007.

Record holder reaches 135 pints

Celebrity status for Lloyd

It took six months, 50 miles,several aching muscles and

a whole lot of toil and sweat,

but blood donor Phil Roylehas finally completed hisunique running challenge -

Mr Runnette became ablood donor while working asa student apprentice at the DeHavilland Engine Company in Edgware, Middlesex.

He said: " My grandfatherwas one of the first everblood donors to reach 50pints. When he passed awaythe National Blood Service(NBS) sent a wonderfulwreath commemorating hisamazing effort. I thought,‘That’s pretty good, I’ll try to beat him and carry on the tradition.’ I was just 20and used to donate at the First Aid base.‘ Still aregular donor after 45 years, Mr Runnette’s commitmentmeans he could have savedthe lives of up to 400 people,more than a third of theresidents of his home town!

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

CAMPAIGN NEWS

6 THE DONOR SPRING 2003

Oh no it isn’t, oh yes it is... it’s Billy Blood DropThe end of the year was a busy one for all at the NBS, witheveryone working hard to boost blood stocks over thechallenging Christmas and New Year period.

Stocks can dip by as much as 10% during this time aspeople focus on preparing for the festivities and manyfall ill with coughs and colds. Fortunately, stocksremained healthy thanks to hard work by staff and thededication of donors who gave up an hour of their timeto help give someone the Gift of Life.

It was an especially busy time for Billy Blood Drop whovisited children’s wards at hospitals across the country

handing out goodie bags. On many on these visits he wasjoined by panto stars, who fluttered their fairy wings,waved their magic wands and helped deliver the bagsand balloons. From soap stars to comedians, the visitsbrightened up the day for the poorly youngsters, manyof whom had received blood as part of their treatment.

A new year also means a new NBS calendar. This year’scalendar was based on our new campaign ‘A lot to saythank you for...’ featuring stories of recipients who owetheir lives to blood, bone marrow and tissue donors. So remember to pencil in the date of your next session!

SHEFFIELD Shoppers hadthe chance to meet a Santawith a difference this yearwhen NBS mascot Billy BloodDrop opened up his very ownfestive grotto (above right).

Billy donned his FatherChristmas outfit - completewith big white beard! - to

welcome youngsters to thegrotto, which was set up inthe city centre. In true grottostyle, every youngster visitingBilly went away with theirown Christmas present,along with a sweet and themuch sought-after ‘I met BillyBlood Drop’ sticker!

SOUTHAMPTON ‘SantaBilly’ had a busy Christmas inthe Southern region. First, hedropped down the chimneyat Southampton GeneralHospital to deliver presentsand festive tidings topatients on the Piam Brownchildren’s cancer ward. Afterhanding out sweets, giftsand Billy Beanies he jumpedback on his sleigh and

headed off to the HexagonTheatre in Reading to meetKeith ‘Cheggars’ Chegwinand the cast of Jack and theBeanstalk. The cast posed forphotographs (above) tosupport local donor sessionsover the Christmas week.

Then it was a quick hopacross the roof tops toWatlington, in Oxon, whereBilly opened a new donor

TORBAY Youngsters at Torbay Hospitalcouldn’t believe their eyes when stars fromJack and the Beanstalk popped in to say hello.

They were even more excited when theyrecognised two of the stars as Brookside’sMick Johnson (Louis Emerick) and Tad fromNeighbours (Jonathon Dutton).

The arrival of the handsome duo may alsohave had something to do with a flurry ofexcitement among female members of staff!

The former soap stars arrived along with fellowcast members from nearby Princess Theatre.

The stars helped Billy Blood Drop hand outballoons and goodie bags, and spent timechatting with the poorly youngsters. In fact,they were enjoying themselves so much theymissed their taxi back to the theatre!

Pictured above is Billy Blood Drop withpatients Louis Saint and Yasmin Maisey andthe cast of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Billy went along to theFloral Pavilion Theatre inNew Brighton where he metEithne Browne, DannyMcCall and Norman Thomas .

LIVERPOOL Staff anddonors certainly got into theChristmas spirit! The donorsuite staff brought atraditional Christmas feel tothe centre with a 'Real' fire,stockings and presents fortheir donors.

STRATFORD EAST Thecast of Jack and the Beanstalkat the Theatre Royal inStratford East, invited a fewextra members on stage tohelp encourage local peopleto give blood.

Billy Blood Drop and someeager youngsters from theaudience joined the stars onstage for a sing-song!

STEVENAGE Althoughmore used to causing havocon stage, cast members fromGordon Craig Theatre’sCinderella took a break tohelp encourage localresidents to include blood

donation as a New Yearresolution. The cast, includingButtons – aka comedianBradley Walsh – showed theirsupport by joining Billy BloodDrop to mingle with shoppersin Stevenage.

session at the village primaryschool. Finally, he jetted overto Swindon to meet formerRainbow star (and friend ofZippy) Geoffrey Hayes andthe cast of Dick Whittingtonat the Wyvern Theatre.Swindon donors turned outin force to give blood on bothChristmas and New Year’sEve and Billy and the cast

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wanted to say a big ‘thankyou’.

THE WIRRAL In a busymonth of pressies and pantos,Billy Blood Drop joined forceswith cast members of DickWhittington (below) to helppromote the need for peopleto give blood over thechallenging Christmas period.

else after their death. Richard says, "It is so important

to tell your loved ones that you area registered organ donor. It is alsovital that families are asked for theirconsent for these vital organs and

tissues to be given for the benefit ofothers. If you don’t, then you areletting that person down by notrespecting their wish."

If you would like to register as an organ donor you can pick up a donor card and leaflet at any blood donor session or visitwww.nhsorgandonor.net

TISSUE DONATION

In living memory of ZoëThe Cansdale family knew their daughter Zoë carried an organ donorcard. So when she died, they didn’t hesitate to offer her tissues for the benefit of others. Nothing can bring Zoë back, but carrying out her wishes has brought comfort to the family

THE DONOR SPRING 2003 7Register as an organ donor call 0845 60 60 400

Martin’s storyMartin, a 28-year-old farmer, collapsed with agonising pains in his right leg. X-rays showed histhigh bone had fractured due to the presence of alarge tumour, which had spread extensively in thebone. The diseased bone had to be removed. Itwas replaced by a section of bone donated bysomeone after their death. Thirteen months later,Martin was able to return to the physicallydemanding work that he loves on the farm.

Martin says, "It was the generosity of otherpeople that enabled my leg to be saved. As aresult I can lead a normal life and continue to dowhat I love doing. Thank you."

Sue Cansdale watched herdaughter Zoë put on hercrash helmet and waved

goodbye to her. She was off for a15 minute ride on her cousin’snew motorbike.

Two hours later a police cardrove slowly along the road wherethe Cansdales lived, in Hartburn,Morpeth. They had come to breakthe news to Sue and her husbandRichard, that 22-year-old Zoë hadbeen killed in an accident.

Sue knew that Zoë had signedup to be an organ donor, but shehadn’t been carrying her card thatday and two hours had passedsince she died. The time lapsemeant it was too late to follow theirdaughter’s wishes and offer herorgans for transplant.

Zoë’s wishesHowever, it wasn’t too late for themto offer Zoë’s tissues. They told thehospital that they knew Zoë wantedto be a donor, the hospital thencontacted a Transplant Co-ordinator, who called them.Following a long talk and in fullknowledge of the procedure, Sueand Richard gave their consent forany of Zoë’s tissues that couldbenefit someone else, to be taken.And so Zoë’s corneas and heartvalves were used to help others.

Afterwards a letter arrived froma six-year-old girl who had receivedone of Zoë’s heart valves. She toldthem of the new lease of life this

precious gift had given her. Afteryears of illness she is able to swim,run and play with her friends.

Sue says, "It gives us greatcomfort to know how others havebenefited from what Zoë leftbehind, tragic as it is that she died.The little girl’s mother told us thatbefore the transplant her daughterwas very sick and couldn’t walkvery far. But now she’s like anyother child. This really highlights

Sue and Richard gained somecomfort from carrying outdaughter Zoë’s wishes

It is vital that

families are asked for

their consent for these

vital organs and tissues

to be given for the

benefit of others

just how important it is to carry anorgan donor card."

Organ Donor RegisterTogether with their local paper, TheJournal, Sue and Richard have nowlaunched the ‘Legacy of Life’campaign in the North East. Theyurge people to enrol on theNational Organ Donor Register andto tell their relatives that it is theirwish to be able to help someone

OLL

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BLOOD GROUPS

THE DONOR SPRING 2003 9Don’t forget the Helpline number 0845 7 711 711

BLOOD GROUPS

8 THE DONOR SPRING 2003 You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465

However, neither the A or the Bgene are dominant over each other.

If your blood group is A, you can only possess one of twocombinations of genes A&A orA&O. If your blood group is B youalso can have only one of two genecombinations, B&B or B&O. If youare a member of blood group O you can only have two O genes. If your blood group is AB your geneswill be A&B.

But why, if O is so easilydominated, is it the most commonblood group worldwide? Theanswer lies in the genes. A studycarried out showed approximatelyseven out of ten people in thiscountry carry at least one O groupgene. So the chances of two Ogroup genes being inherited fromyour parents becomes much higherthan inheriting say two B's. That iswhy in this country, 47% of thepopulation will be a member of theO blood group.

Back in time Where did these different bloodgroups come from? In the sameway that people, cultures andlanguages change from country tocountry, so do blood groups. Thismeans that some types are morecommon in certain ethnic and

Secrets in the bloodtheir blood group. In business someoffices even attempt to get the rightblend of blood groups to ensureworking harmony!

But why do we have differentblood groups at all, and how do weget our particular type?

The science bit Blood type, like hair, eye or skincolour, is inherited. Everyoneinherits two ‘blood type’ genes -one from their mother and onefrom their father. So you have two blood type genes, thecombination of which gives youyour blood group. The A and B geneare called ‘dominant’ genes as they always win over the O gene.

music. They found that group Aswere attracted to harmony, Bs torhythm, Os to melody and ABs likedall three (especially Bach)!

It’s in the bloodIn Japan they attach particular

importance to blood groups. On theisland of Miyajima, there’s a specialpost box with four slots, eachmarked with a different bloodgroup. For a few yen you can putyour hand in and pull out a fortunewritten according to your group.

So, if you’re A you’ll discoveryou’re conservative and co-operative, Bs will find out they’reeccentric, Os, relaxed, ambitious,but poor on detail, and AB typesmoody and standoffish! As and Bsshould avoid each other as partners,but either would be happy with anAB partner. Os should stick to theirown type, and steer clear of Bs.

Japanese couples planning tomarry sometimes ask each other

national groups and, despite thefact these groups become moremixed as people move around the globe, it’s still possible to seehow blood groups differ frompopulation to population.

The O group is the oldest of theblood groups. Back in the StoneAge, everyone would have been O –and today it’s still the most common

group in the UK, especially in theNorth of England. Over in Centraland South America and the USAmost people are O too. The fact thatanyone can receive O blood reflectsthe fact that all other blood groupsare derived from it.

Group A is the second oldestblood group, appearing around25,000 - 15,000BC, when largerhuman settlements first appearedas farming developed. You’ll find alot of A in Central and EasternEurope. It’s the commonest groupin Norway, Denmark, Austria,Armenia and Japan.

If you’re looking for group B,

● Only identical twins have exactly the same blood type

● About 5% of Americans are members of theAB blood group – including John F. Kennedyand Marilyn Monroe

● Apes have exactly the same four blood types as humans

● The Rhesus blood group (Rh) was named afterthe Rhesus monkey it was first detected in

● Duelling is legal in Paraguay if both parties are registered blood donors

● Almost every Peruvian is blood group O● Mr. Spock’s blood type is T-negative –

perhaps that’s why it’s green!● Some people believe that you can loose

weight by tailoring your diet to suit yourblood group

What do Elvis Presley,Prince Charles, AlCapone and Charlie

Chaplin - not to mention around26 million people in Britain - havein common? Well, they are allblood group O - the most commonblood group in the world.

As a donor you’ll have been toldyour blood group – O, A, B or AB.But did you realise what aninfluence your blood group mayhave on you?

The famous geneticist SteveJones’s book In the blood describeshow researchers have measured theheart rates of people of differentblood groups while they listened to

Did you know?

From the left: Elvis Presley, Prince Charles, Al Capone andCharlie Chaplin all have somethingin common (See main text)

Are you moody? Or eccentric? Ambitious? Do you love Bach? Perhaps it’s down to your blood type. The four groups A, B, AB and O could be responsible for a lot more in our lives than we think

TV’s Davina McCall is the famous facebehind our new blood group video. Thevideo features personal testimonies fromblood recipients across the country,whose lives have been saved by bloodtransfusion. They all have the same clearmessage for blood donors everywhere -‘Thank you’.

The video is sent to O group donorswhose blood is especially useful, becauseit can be used for patients who don’t necessarily share the same blood type.

The video has been received verywarmly. In particular, many donors commented how lovely it was to hear thestories of so many patients who wouldnot be here if it weren’t for blood donorssuch as themselves.

Please remember that we are tremendously grateful to every donor,whatever their blood type!

Every blood cell carries on itssurface a number of chemicals,(proteins and antigens) thecombination of which make upyour blood group.

There are over a hundreddifferent blood groups, but for-tunately very few are importantto know and only then whenyou require a blood transfusionor if you are pregnant. The keyones to know about are theABO and Rhesus groups.

The ABO blood grouping system was discovered by Dr.Karl Landsteiner. He was thefirst to realise that not all bloodwas the same. Landsteiner laterdiscovered another type,Rhesus. If you have it, you’re Rh

The blood grouping systempositive – if not, you’re Rh negative. And so was born theblood grouping system – andthe eight blood groups – whichare so familiar to blood donorseverywhere.

Landsteiner realised differentblood types would react differently to each other, making some groups compatibleand others not. So while O negative, known as the universal blood group, can be given safely to anyone, Onegative donors can only receivetheir own specific type.

And so it goes on (see tableright). Complicated stuff – nowonder Landsteiner won theNobel Prize for discovering it!

A special thank you

Who can give blood to who?PATIENT

DONOR O Pos O Neg A Pos A Neg B Pos B Neg AB Pos AB NegO Pos ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘

O Neg ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

A Pos ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘

A Neg ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔

B Pos ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘

B Neg ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

AB Pos ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘

AB Neg ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔

You can see that all blood groups can receive ‘O Neg’ and only ‘AB Pos’ canreceive blood from any group. C

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then try the Chinese or Asiancommunities, where around aquarter of all people share thisblood group. It emerged between15,000 and 10,000BC as tribesmigrated from Africa to Europe,Asia and the Americas and mingledwith other populations.

The newest and rarest group,AB, only appeared between 1000and 500 years ago, and is believedto have occurred as a response tothe mixing of existing blood groupson a major scale. In Japan, Chinaand Pakistan around 10% of thepopulation boast this rarest ofblood groups. Amazing!

10 THE DONOR SPRING 2003 Find out about starting a sessions call 0845 7 711 711

discouragement for donors. So, the location looked good.

What about the village hall? The

DONOR SESSIONS

What makes a good venue for a donorsession? Janet Hewitt thought her Lincolnshirevillage of Metheringham would be the idealplace, but would the NBS team agree?

NBS looked at its size, the parking,access for vehicles and equipment,plus facilities such as drinking waterand other health and safetyaspects. The venue passed withflying colours, and a session wasbooked for the following August.Out went the invitations to allMetheringham donors.

Putting the word outPublicity was vital, and the NBSbegan advertising to the widercommunity through schools, shops, the library, the GP’s surgeryand other local facilities inMetheringham and the surroundingvillages. Local newspapers and radio were targeted, and the session appeared as a newsflash on the Metheringham website.

The session, held on Thursday29th August 2002, was a hugesuccess. Janet and her team ofvolunteers handed out tea andbiscuits and helped the team todeal with the the steady stream ofdonors. By the end of the day 141donations had been taken – 51from new donors.

But that is not the end of thestory. The NBS have 5,600 venuesnationwide, which are constantlyre-evaluated to make sure they arein just the right place for donors.The work just doesn’t stop!

Let’s do the session right here!

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Drop boxes, (shown right at asupermarket in Essex), are anessential tool in our donorrecruitment drive.

They are unmanned free-standing recruitment tables thatcan be left in supermarkets,libraries, shopping malls, officecanteens, leisure centres, collegesand schools. In fact anywherewith lots of people walking past.

We are always looking fornew places to leave these dropboxes, so if you think you have agreat spot we would love to hearfrom you. Just call 0845 7 711 711during office hours, and ask to beput through to your localMarketing Department.

Drop us a line

Happy with the session: Janet, right,with Helen Shepherd, left, and JaneHigginbottom from the NBS

Janet Hewitt has been a blooddonor for 15 years but wanted to do more than

simply donate blood. She thought that Metheringham, theLincolnshire village where shelives, would be a great place for adonor session and so she phonedthe Donor Helpline. Janet says, "Iknew lots of donors had to travelmiles to give blood, so I thought itwould be great to have a sessionhere in our village."

Janet’s timing was perfect.Lincolnshire had already been

identified as an area with greatpotential by the NBS research team,and a dedicated collection team forLincolnshire was just being set up.

Lynne Moulder from the NBSsays, "Janet’s call came just at theright time and it confirmed onceagain to us that setting up the newteam was the right thing to do.With calls like this it was cleardonors wanted more choice ofsessions in the area."

First the team had to establish ifMetheringham was a suitablelocation. Was it close to othersessions? How many donors, newand old, would it attract? Would itbe easy to promote the session toresidents, and how would they feelabout the new venue?

Full marksMetheringham scored highly on allpoints. It’s a growing village with atleast 4,500 people and over half itsresidents are between 16-59 yearsold, many of them already donors.The developing residential areasaround the village suggested agrowing base of potential futuredonors. The nearest sessions wereat least six miles away – a definite

Publicity was vital, andthe NBS began

advertising to the widercommunity throughschools, shops, the

library, the GP’s surgeryand other local facilities

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When Tara Carr wasexpecting her secondbaby she knew there

might be problems. Tara is Rhesusnegative, which means her bloodcan produce antibodies that attackand harm the blood of any Rhesuspositive baby she may carry.

She explains, "I’d already had alittle boy, and during his birth hisRhesus positive blood affected myblood. It meant I began to producethe antiD antibody. This attacksRhesus positive blood."

It was therefore important thatdoctors knew the blood group ofTara’s second baby. A Rhesusnegative baby wouldn’t be aproblem, Rhesus positive would.But finding out the blood group ofa tiny foetus is not easy. It involvesputting a needle into the womb

Hospital, Bristol. The new baby,Lydia, needed two bloodtransfusions at 32 and 34 weeks,and was delivered early at 36weeks. She is now 5 months old,and other than regular check-upsfor low haemoglobin, is abouncing, healthy baby.

New test for futureThe test has important potential fordiagnosing – without risky needles– other blood conditions that canaffect pregnancy, such as betathalassaemia. There are also plansto use this technique to test foetalDNA from all Rh-negative pregnantwomen, about 100,000 per year.This will mean that the 40% ofwomen carrying an Rh-negativefoetus will no longer have toreceive unnecessary preventativetherapy during their pregnancy.

This is just one of a number ofkey breakthroughs that the NBSscientists are involved in. Withresearch facilities in Oxford,Cambridge and Bristol to name justa few, our scientists are makingdiscoveries all the time that could,as with Tara and Lydia, transformthe treatment of patients. Watchthis space!

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

THE DONOR SPRING 2003 11Become a platelet donor call 0845 7 711 711

A long road12 hours of unbroken

driving would be neededto travel between ourmost distant sessions

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The NBS is very proud of allits research scientists, whowork behind the scenes toimprove patient care forthe future. This year onein particular has beentruly honored by receivingthe prestigious, worldacclaimed 'Jean JulliardPrize' for his outstandingcontribution to researchin transfusion medicine.

Dr Nick Watkins, 31, isone of only 21 people in the world to win this award, from theInternational Society ofBlood Transfusion Medicine, and only the second person from the UK.Nick won the award for his research looking into the detailed molecu-lar structure of platelet proteins and their antibodies. It’s work that willlead to better blood and platelet matches for patients in the future.

Cutting edge research

and then extracting DNA from thefoetus – a risky procedure becauseit can occasionally lead to amiscarriage. And the small amountof foetal bleeding it causes cantrigger an even bigger antibodyattack from the mother’s blood,and that can be fatal for the baby.

Better testEnter the clever NBS scientists.Working at the International BloodGroup Reference Laboratory(IBGRL) based at Bristol, scientistshave recently devised an importantnew type of test for identifying theblood group of a foetus.

Geoff Daniels, who leads theMolecular Diagnostics team thereexplains, "The new test canmeasure the very small amounts ofthe unborn baby’s DNA that isfound in the mother’s blood. So bytaking a sample of her blood wecan determine the baby’s bloodgroup, and act accordingly."

The new test showed Tara’sbaby was indeed Rhesus positive.Alarm bells rang, and Tara was

referred to the specialist FoetalMedicine Unit in St Michael’s

Tara and baby Lydia bothbenefitted from the new test

Saving life before birthThere’s not much NBS scientists don’tknow about blood. Now thanks to theirpioneering research, a new test for life-threatening Rhesusdisease is givingvulnerable babies likeLydia a fighting chance

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BELLY-BUSTERSBELLY-BUSTERSWhy did Billy take up

acting?

Because it was in his blood!

OVER TO YOU

WEBWATCH

IS IT TRUE THAT...

This is your chance to tell us your news, views and interesting or unusual donor stories. Write to Penny Richardson, Editor, The Donor, National BloodService, West Derby Street, Liverpool L7 8TW

Q I want to organise a talkfor my local youth group

about blood donation – how doI go about it?

AThe NBS can provideinformative talks for groups,

schools and colleges. Go to ourwebsite and fill in the enquiry formthere, or telephone our donorhelpline for details.

Q I gave up smoking atChristmas and I am using

patches, will I still be able togive blood?

AYes, probably. If you sufferfrom any symptoms as a

result of quitting, we suggest yougive blood once those symptomshave passed. Most patches, nasal sprays andgum do not prevent you fromgiving blood but bring them alongto the session and show the nurseor doctor before donating.

12 THE DONOR SPRING 2003 Find where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

Last issue’s front coverWhat’s Hugh Laurie doing in a videoabout blood safety? He’s probablybeing handsomely paid for it!MR A J BOLLISTER

BREWOOD, STAFFS.Editor’s response I am very happyto reassure you that all of thecelebrities who appear in anypublicity for the NBS make nocharge for their time. Somecelebrities, such as Heather Millsand Gary Linekar, have apersonal reason for appearing.Others, like Davina Mc Call whohas just fronted a new video forus, are happy to give us a fewhours of their time free, as theyknow they are helping to makean important difference.

Pushing the age barrierI have been donating blood in theMerseyside region since 1958. I understand that once a personreaches the age of 70 they can nolonger donate blood.

It would appear to me that asthe health and lifespan of thepopulation in general is increasingsignificantly, that we should nowlook at a more flexible alternative to

putting an upper age limit for thedonation of blood.

I would suggest that an annualmedical certificate issued by one’sown GP would be sufficient toensure that there is no risk to thedonor in giving blood.

From a personal viewpoint I havenever had any reaction whatsoeverfrom donating blood so I think it ashame if in August 2005 I wouldhave to ‘hang up my boots’. MR W R D WATERS

PARBOLD LANCASHIRE

Editor’s response The upper agelimit for blood donors was onlyextended about 5 years ago sothat healthy regular blooddonors can now continue upuntil the age of 70. For a fewyears before that concessionswere made for individuals tocontinue beyond the age of 65,on confirmation from their owndoctor that they were still ingood health. We still regard the upper agelimit of 70 as being appropriate,as it is really only theexceptional blood donor who isstill able to continue to makeregular blood donations until

then. However, these age limits,as well as all other criteria forselection of donors are underconstant review, and so afurther change to the age limitscannot be ruled out.

Thanks to the ‘B’ teamBeing in a minority as a group Bdonor, I often wondered if there’dbe much demand for my blood. Myfather always thought he wasgroup O so I assumed that the B hadbeen inherited from my late mother.

In August, my father, then 86,was suddenly diagnosed withadvanced bladder cancer. He optedfor an operation, and to my surprisehe received six pints of B blood!Unfortunately, he only lived for two

TIME OUT Have you been to visit blood.co.uk recently? It has becomevery popular with over six thousand visitors a day. We have sections ontissue donation, bone marrow donation, as well as lots of information.In fact there’s everything you want to know about blood.

There are two very popular sections, the session searcher, where youkey in your postcode and up pops your nearest session, along with a mapfor you to print out. Also, have a peek at the new look 'fun zone'. Hereyou can find downloadable screen savers and wallpaper for your ownPC or Mac.

There is an interactive educational area called 'the bloody bits' basedon the Nick Arnold books, where you can find out all about blood in afun way. And don’t miss some great games and quizzes for all agegroups. Try your hand at 'Bacteria Bash' where you can help Billy saveBetty Bone Marrow from the evil Baron Bacteria. Can you beat ‘MAC’ onhis/her high score of 7,248,100?

more days, but the blood gave himand our family precious extra time,and made him feel better.So, thank you to all B donors, andyes, you are valuable.JULIA WILLIAMSON

PLYMOUTH

Donors of the futureI’d like to thank the staff at theHaywards Heath donation centrewho are always so tolerant of mychildren. I could not donate if Icouldn’t bring them along. My fourchildren have been coming alongsince they were strapped inpushchairs and staff have alwaysfound time for them.

My children are getting themessage that it is important to helpother people, even if we don’tknow who those people are.SUE MINTER

HAYWARDS HEATH

We answer some of your questions about donating

Due to shortage of space not all publishedletters are printed in full. Whilst we welcome your letters, we cannot guaran-tee a reply or to publish them. However,any complaints raised will be respondedto via our complaints procedure.

QI sometimes taketranquillisers. Does this

prevent me from giving blood?

AThe session medical staff willneed to see what medication

you are on, so bring it with you.The nurse or doctor may have aquick chat with you about yourmedication and any underlyingcondition, but in the vast majorityof cases tranquillisers do not stopyou from giving blood.

QI suffer from varicoseveins. As blood is carried

around my body through myveins am I able to give blood?

AProviding you are otherwisefit and healthy you are still

able to be a blood donor, anddonating will do you no harm.However, if you are awaitingsurgery or have recently hadsurgery this may temporarilyexclude you. A

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THE DONOR SPRING 2003 13Don’t forget the Helpline number 0845 7 711 711

Dave Lee may have onlyjoined the NBS as a BoneMarrow Panel Adminis-

trator a few months ago, butthere’s no doubt that it’s the jobfor him. Dave, based in Bristol, isresponsible for looking after bonemarrow donors every step of theway and he loves it.

Today, Dave arrives in the officeat nine and checks the answermachine. There’s a message from adonor who may be a possiblematch for a patient and they want to discuss the necessaryblood tests.

Dave returns the call and runsthrough a health questionnaire justto check the donor is fit and well.The donor is taking medication and Dave needs to check with adoctor that a donation will still bepossible. Everything is fine and theblood testing kit is posted out. A courier is arranged to collect theblood samples from the donor’s GPlater in the week.

Making donors welcomeDave is due to meet anotherpotential new donor at eleven for amedical and counselling, so withtime to spare, he gets on thephone. He needs to book theatrespace and an anaesthetist for a

forthcoming bone marrowremoval. The donor and his wife will also need hotelaccommodation – another call.Then it’s back to the admin.

The tissue laboratory in Bristol,one of three in the country, cantissue type up to 13,500 samples ayear – which means a lot of donorinformation needs to be fed intothe computer. So, any spare

MY LIFE: David LeeBONE MARROW PANEL ADMINISTRATOR – BRISTOL

Dave does it all

Looking after bonemarrow donors is asurprisingly complexbusiness, but variety isdefinitely the spice oflife for Dave Lee

moment sees Dave tapping datainto the ‘HITS’ computer system.

The new donor arrives on timefor her medical and counselling. "Itry to put people at ease," Davesays. "We have a quick chat and acoffee, before I take them to meetthe medics. The donor also has afew queries about her expensesform, which I can explain."

At lunchtime, Dave, a seasoned

marathon runner, slips into hisshorts and goes for a five mile run –now that’s true commitment!

Back at the office he freshens upbefore visiting a donor who ismaking a lymphocyte donation viaan ‘apheresis machine’ (see box) atthe nearby donor centre.

Dave explains, "Sometimespatients need a ‘top-up’ from theiroriginal donor if they start gettingpoorly. This gentleman gave his firstdonation more than two years ago,but he is back to help again."

The best part of the jobDave’s last job today is to visit abone marrow donor who was intheatre earlier that day. "This is areally rewarding part of the job,"enthuses Dave. "You build up arelationship with the donors and it’snice to go and see them when it’s allover. They may be a little bit sore,but they are usually proud that theycould have helped save someone’slife." Dave leaves for home pleasedwith the day’s work and wonderingwho he’ll meet tomorrow.

Above: Dave makes sure a bonemarrow donor feels comfortable

Gary Stephens, pictured right, has been selectedtwice as a bone marrow donor. Gary says, "I wasgob-smacked when I got a call at work saying I was a match again. It was only a few years aftermy first bone marrow donation."

Gary didn’t hesitate to go ahead though. "I justkept thinking that if my little boy needed a life-savingtransplant I’d hope others would do the same."

Gary made his first donation under generalanaesthetic. The second time was a stem celldonation, extracting lymphocytes from the blood bymachine, a process known as apheresis.

Says Gary, "I couldn’t believe how easy it was. I’m sure more people would register as donors ifthey knew how nice all the staff are and how easyand straight forward the procedure is."

Return match

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Tiny patients such as Louis and very ill patients withlow immunity may need blood from ‘accredited’donors. Only donors whose blood has certain characteristics are suitable.

The NBS tests all blood donations for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and Syphilis, but in additionscreens a limited number of selected donations forone particular virus, Cytomegalovirus (CMV). Thisvirus is harmless to healthy adults but stays in theblood after infection and is potentially fatal to

seriously ill patients. Donors who are CMV negative can provide blood for these patients.These donors are also tested for antibodies to redcells, white cells and platelets.

Only a small number of donors from any bloodgroup will have the right antibody profile, and aretherefore able to become accredited donors. Forexample, only one in ten thousand ‘O’ negativeblood donors has just the right combination tobecome ‘accredited’.

NBS TEAMWORK

haemorrhaging is often the result.Amanda and Lee’s only hope of

a child was for any future baby toundergo a complex and risky seriesof platelet transfusions – whilst stillin the womb. After counselling,Amanda and Lee decided to goahead, and so for the tenth timeAmanda became pregnant. Shesaid: "It was worrying, but you dowhatever it takes."

Special helpShe sought specialist help from theFetal Medicine Unit at King’sCollege Hospital in London. In the20th week of pregnancy, the baby’sblood showed a platelet count ofjust 13 – a normal count is 150 – soa transfusion was vital.

The unborn baby now relied onregular transfusions to survive, andduring the next few weeks ninespecially matched, ‘accredited’donors (see box) gave platelet

donations. The baby needed 13transfusions in total.

These specially matcheddonations must be used within 24-hours. This posed a real problemover the four day Jubilee BankHoliday as, unlike normal bankholidays when only some of our

14 THE DONOR SPRING 2003 Become a bone marrow donor call 0845 7 711 711

A tiny unborn baby and a Jubilee Bank Holidayweekend presented a challenge to the NBS.Could we manage to collect, test and deliver ontime the life-saving platelets the baby needed?

staff work, everyone involved in thedonation process needed to beavailable. It’s a long list that includesthe donors, staff in the donor suite,staff in the donation testinglaboratory, the blood componentslaboratory, plus people at bloodissue and transport departments.They all needed to work during theBank Holiday to get these units tothe hospital in time. But they did it.

A healthy boyOn 14 June at just 31 weeks, ahealthy baby boy, Louis, was bornat Kent and Canterbury Hospital.He was a dream come true for newparents Amanda and Lee.

Louis doesn’t know it yet, buthe’s here because of the efforts ofdozens of people all workingtowards the same goal. Donors, allthe staff at the NBS in Cambridgeand Brentwood, the FoetalMaternity Unit at King’s Hospitaland of course all the staff at theKent and Canterbury Hospital.

The winning team: Top left andright: NBS staff from the donorsuite, laboratories, issues andtransport, and above, Amanda,Lee and baby Louis

Teamwork brings a ‘little’ success

Blood donors with a difference

Amanda Maclaren wasbeginning to despair thatshe’d ever have a baby.

She’d already had eight miscarriages before she and part-ner Lee lost their ninth child due toa massive bleed into the brain at avery late stage in pregnancy.Doctors suspected some kind ofimmune response problem, andtook samples from the young couple and sent them to the NBSLaboratory in Cambridge for tests.

Tests showed the presence of aplatelet antibody in the mother’sblood and a corresponding antigenpresent in the father’s, a conditionknown as Neonatal Allo-ImmuneThrombocytopenia. This means thebaby’s platelets carry antigensinherited from the father that themother’s immune systemrecognises as foreign. The mother’simmune system then attacks anddestroys the baby’s platelets. Fatal

THE DONOR SPRING 2003 15You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465

NBS INFORMATION

If you need any information about givingblood, just call the Donor Helpline and staffwill answer your queries on:

• Where you can give blood locally• Whether you are able to give blood• Your donor session details• Becoming a bone marrow donor• How to become a platelet donor• Medical aspects of giving blood• How travelling abroad might affect you

giving blood• Any other general donor mattersRemember, you can call the Helpline to tell us ifyou have moved house or changed employers– we don't want to lose you!

Our Donor Helpline is open for generalenquiries 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

DON’T FORGET BBC2 Ceefax page 465 will giveyou details of the next two days’ blood donorsessions in your TV region.

For all your enquiries the Donor Helpline number is

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

Permanent Blood Donor Sites If, for any reason, your local donor session is no longer suitable, thenit may be more convenient for you to attend one of our permanentBlood Donor Sites. Please call the Donor Helpline to find out thedetails of the centres listed here:

LONDON Edgware, Tooting, West End

NORTH Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield

NORTH EAST Newcastle-upon-Tyne

NORTH WEST Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester

MIDLANDS& Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Oxford,SOUTH Stoke-on-Trent

SOUTH EAST Luton, Cambridge, Brentwood

SOUTH WEST Bristol, Gloucester, Plymouth, Southampton

We always need new donors. So please, if you are not adonor, fill out the coupon opposite, place it in an envelope and send it to National Blood Service,FREEPOST, 75 Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 7YB, or call0845 7 711 711 now to enrol as a blood donor.

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 to 60 and weigh over 7st 12lbs/50kg. Please send this coupon to the address opposite. MO6

Answers on page 12

KIDS PUZZLE CORNER

SPOT DIFFERENCESPOT DIFFERENCE

I would like to join the NHS Blood Donor Register as someone who may be contacted and wouldbe prepared to donate blood. I understand that the National Blood Service (NBS) or its partnersmay phone, write or otherwise contact me with details of local donor sessions. I agree to the NBSholding my personal details on their donor database and processing this information as necessaryfor the proper administration of the NBS

Edmund Proctoropened his optome-try practice more

than 25 years ago. Edmundwas a family man marriedto Norma, with twindaughters Justine andRebecca. Edmund alsoloved being a grandfather.

He was the secondgeneration of his family in the business and had overcome the problems caused by dyslexiato achieve top-levelqualifications in his chosenfield. He led a busy workinglife, and actively promotedhis profession. Edmund wasequally busy away fromwork. A member of theFreemasons and the MagicCircle, he also found time tolearn to fly light aircraft.

Rare illnessIn 2000 Edmund developedthe illness ‘SystemicMastocytosis’. This rarebone marrow disorder,described by his daughterJustine as "like a big allergicreaction", meant he couldnot produce his own bloodand needed three units ofblood every two weeks, justto survive.

During the course of hisillness Edmund underwenttrial treatments for thedisease. He becamesomething of an authorityon his condition throughthe Internet - and hiscourage symbolised hisdetermined approach to life.

Daughter Justine explains, "It'sa very rare condition. We were told

NEWS EXTRA

16 THE DONOR SPRING 2003 Become a bone marrow donor call 0845 7 711 711

Norma Proctor, son-in-lawRoger and their family arethankful to donors forgiving their father extrayears of life

there were only about 30 cases inthe whole world. My father hadgood and bad days but he was a

fighter – not the sort of person towallow in self-pity."

The whole family have becomeblood donors as a result of theirfather's illness. "You don't realisethe importance of giving blooduntil you're in a situation wheresomebody you love needs regulartransfusions. It was dad whostarted us all donating. I'm notkeen on needles but it doesn'thurt," says Justine.

Starting a campaignSadly last November, after a twoand a half year battle against thedisease, Edmund died. In theprevious week Justine, Rebeccaand son-in-law Roger had received

Why blood is vital even for the dyingDID YOU KNOW?

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all our donors

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their regular invitations todonate blood. The sessionwas the day after their fatherdied. Despite their sad lossthey all kept theirappointments.

Justine continues tospread the word aboutdonating blood to patients atthe practice in Kidderminster,with enrolment leafletsalways to hand.

Rebecca, a GP in nearbyBromsgrove ensures thatposters and leaflets aredisplayed at her surgery. Theyknow the difference that theregular blood transfusionsmade to their father.

But the family wanted tohelp more and contacted theNBS. In December theyspearheaded the localChristmas appeal, tellingtheir father’s story in the localnewspaper, urging people tobecome blood donors.

Edmund’s family said,"We would like to thank all

blood donors; without your helpEddie’s life would have been somuch shorter. It costs nothing to bea blood donor, only your time, andone day your family or friends mayfind themselves in a similarsituation, relying on blood to givethem some more time."

The precious gift of timeA rare bone marrow disease meant Edmund needregular blood transfusions to survive. There was nocure for Edmund’s illness, but the extra years of lifeblood gave him was a very precious gift

Everyone knows blood is literally a lifesaver for those who’ve beenin an accident or need it to help survive treatments and operations.But for some, whose illness has no cure and that last battle they facejust can’t be won, a blood transfusion can help to improve theirquality of life during their final months, weeks or even days.

Karen Clarke, a Community Nurse who gives transfusions to theterminally ill in their own homes, says, "These vital transfusions givepatients a better quality of life. It gives them the energy and ability to enjoy this precious, final time with their families."

But this time is often a gift that only blood can provide. In someserious accidents, its use can mean that a critically ill patient can stayalive long enough for their loved ones to reach the hospital to seethem, one last time. Priceless.