The Donor - Spring 2005

NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL BLOOD SERVICE

SPRING 2005

The gift that can transform so many livesTISSUEDONATIONThe gift that can transform so many livesTISSUEDONATION

EMERGENCY DOCTORSHow London Air Ambulance saved Jamie

A new kind of life-saver Treating patients withcord blood stem cells

Rock and roll!The new machines helpingsessions to speed up

EMERGENCY DOCTORSHow London Air Ambulance saved Jamie

A new kind of life-saver Treating patients withcord blood stem cells

Rock and roll! The new machines helpingsessions to speed up

2 THE DONOR SPRING 2005 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 emailus at [email protected]. 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 of this magazine is less than the price of a first class stamp.

NBS EDITORIAL TEAM: Ruth Greenaway, Vicky Smith, Lyndsay Stewart,Rachel Roberts and Charlotte Pearson. NBS Project Liaison Caroline Osborne.

The Donor is published by the National Blood Service. Reproduction inwhole or part is strictly forbidden without the prior permission of theNational Blood Service. Editorial consultancy, writing, subbing, art direction, design and productionKeith Hodgson and Hilary Joseph at Ant Creative (London). Reproduction – Portland Media (London). Printed by Apple Web Offset onpaper from sustainable forests. The National Blood Service is run by the National Blood Authority

which is a Special Health Authority within the National Health Service. NHS

Many people think that blood ismostly needed by those who’vehad accidents, like three of the people featured in this issue. Wemay be thought of as just the bloodservice, but there’s so much more tous than simply blood.

Doug Miller, on page 6, needed plasma exchangeswhen a life-threatening blood disorder struck. This procedure, carried out by our nurses, saved his life.

And its not just blood and its components – red cells,plasma, white cells and platelets, that can help to savepatients lives. Last November I received a letter asking me to put an article in the Donor magazine about tissue donation.

The letter was from a mother whose 20-year old sonhad died suddenly, just eight weeks earlier. His familyknew he carried an organ donor card but assumed it wastoo late for him to be a donor as he had already died. PENNY RICHARDSON – Editor

They discovered that it wasn’t too late to donate tissuesand their sons’ corneas, skin, heart valves and bone weredonated. His mother felt that hilighting tissue donationwould help those who need tissues and also bring comfort to other bereaved families.

Her letter went on to say how distressed they wouldhave been if they had been too late to offer the donation. And that knowing their son had helped othershad helped them as a family to cope with their loss.

Take a look opposite at page 3 to find out about tissue donation, what to do if you want to be a donor,and how one child’s life was saved with the help ofdonated tissue.

3 TISSUE DONATION Donated tissue is a life-saver for patients like Francis

6 A CHANCE IN A MILLIONDoug Miller nearly died of a rare blood disease

7 ROCK AND ROLL!Our groovy new kit is helping to cut session times

8 EMERGENCY DOCTORSWhen motorcyclist Jamie Morley came off his bike at BrandsHatch, the London Air Ambulance came to his rescue

10 BLOOD IS SO INTERESTING!Meet Moji Gesinde, our leading expert in componentdonation. She talks about her work with donors and patients

11 THE POTTER’S TALEDick Unsworth likes a challenge. So a childhood accident that took away one hand hasn’t stopped him fromfulfilling his dreams

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

In this Spring issue

Emergency doctors page 8 Cord blood donations page 14

13 PUT TO THE TESTA typical day for testing manager Josie Jackson at our Bristollaboratories

14 A NEW KIND OF LIFE-SAVERHow donated cord blood is helping patients with serious blooddisorders

15 CROSSWORDAnother challenge for you! Plus up-to-date information

16 SAVING LIVES: IT’S IN THE BLOODGiving blood can be a real family affair

Be a tissue donor call the helpline 0845 7 711 711 SPRING 2005 THE DONOR 3

TISSUE DONATION

Every year, donated organssuch as hearts, kidneys andlivers save hundreds of lives.

But organ donation is only possiblein very particular circumstances.

Tissue donation is different.Unlike organs, tissues such as skin,bone, tendons and heart valves,can be donated up to 24 hoursafter a person’s heart stops beating.

Also, for some tissues, thedonor’s age isn’t so important.However, their medical history will still be reviewed in a similar way as for a blood donor, to makesure the donated tissues can besafely used.

Many people can donate tissueafter their death and their tissuescould provide transplants to helpup to 30 patients.

Donated bone, for example, isused for grafts for patients havinghip replacements; donated skinhelps to treat severe burns victims,

while donated tendons can repairserious ligament damage. Corneascan restore the sight of up to twopeople. Finally, donated heartvalves offer a chance of life to manyheart patients.

Specially trained nurses and staffin our Tissue Services team workclosely with key personnel from awide range of organisationsincluding the police, A & Edepartments and the Organ DonorTransplant Co-ordinators.

These people, working on thefront line, are often the ones whobroach the subject of tissuedonation with bereaved families.

If someone has expressed a wishto donate tissues, one of ourspecialist nurses will talk to the

Another kind of donationDonated organs are life-savers, but did youknow that donated tissues can also make a realdifference to the lives of seriously ill patients?

Talking to your family about donation after death can be hard. Yetmany families who have given permission for organs or tissues to bedonated say that knowing their loved one has helped save andimprove the lives of other people is a great comfort to them.

If you are considering donating your organs or tissues after yourdeath, make sure you discuss your wishes with your family. You canalso join the NHS organ donor register; carrying a donor card makesit easier to raise the subject of donation with your family, who mustalso give their permission before any organs or tissues can be used.

For more information on donating organs, contact UK Transplanton 0845 60 60 400 or visit www.uktransplant.org.uk

Talking to your family

the donor’s medical history toensure that the donated tissues areas safe as possible to give to apatient.

If everything is alright, the tissuesare collected by a specially-trainedteam and taken for processing andstoring at the nearest tissue bankuntil they are needed.

bereaved family members and givethem more information. If theywant to go ahead, they will beasked a series of questions about

The gift that saved Francis

Two-year-old Francis Papewas born with two holes

in his heart and needed imme-diate surgery. Unfortunately itwasn’t a success, and doctorsdecided that his only hopewas a further, very high-riskoperation.

So at just three-weeks-old,Francis had more majorsurgery. He received a donatedheart valve to replace his weakone. Also a device was inserted to close thegap between the chambers of the heart and asmall pacemaker was fitted. During the opera-tion he needed several blood transfusions.

Now a lively toddler, Francis is developingnormally. He will need more surgery as he

grows, including the replacement of hisdonated heart valve with larger ones. His mumLiz says, "Francis has had so much help from somany people since he was born – everyonefrom the medical team to blood donors. Weare so grateful to all of them. But especially

we wish we could say a specialthank you to the parents whodonated one of their baby’sheart valves. We will never meetthem, but without their braveryFrancis would not be here withus. They are real heroes and theirwillingness to help others hasshown us there is true kindnessand goodness in the world."

Liz, husband Brian, Bethany,Curtus and Francis, top left, inhospital after Francis’ birth.Francis, below, is now a playfultwo-year-old. The family, left,together again

NEWS

You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 4654 THE DONOR SPRING 2005

The National Blood Service,is hosting this year’s World

Blood Donor Day (WBDD) on June 14. Karl Landsteiner,discoverer of the ABO bloodgroup system, was born on thisday 137 years ago.

The theme is "Celebratingthe gift of blood" and therewill be special events takingplace across the country andaround the world.

"WBDD provides asplendid opportunity to raiseawareness of the need forblood and blood donors. Weare honoured to host thisevent," says Mike Fogden,Chairman of the NBS.

Last year’s inaugural launchof WBDD took place in SouthAfrica and was supported byhigh-profile figures includingNelson Mandela.

We are merging with UKTransplant as part of a

drive by the Department ofHealth to improve services topatients.

This is part of the Arm’sLength Body review whichyou may have read or heardabout in the media recently.

The merger, expected tobe completed by October thisyear, will create a neworganisation, NHS Blood and

Transplant (NHSBT). The twoorganisations will pool theirskills, resources andexperience to help save andimprove patients lives.

Of course, NHSBT willcontinue to depend on yourgenerosity to ensure patientsreceive the blood and bonemarrow they need. We willupdate you about anydevelopments in the nextedition of The Donor.

We’ve gone intopartnership with the

County Football Association(CFA) in South Yorkshire withthe aim of getting footballers,officials and FA staff across thearea involved in giving bloodand raising awareness ofblood donation.

In April we will beintroducing a new

‘Donor Health Check’questionnaire.

Due to a change in theEU rules about malariatesting we need to amendsome of the travelquestions we ask you.

These changes will notaffect your actualdonation; however, youmay find you areanswering ‘yes’ to onequestion every time youcome to give blood.

Please don’t worry, thisdoesn’t mean you cannotdonate any more. It justmeans we have to carryout a test on yourdonation.

A further change involves

the administration boxeswe use on the donationrecord side. This change isrelated to the additionaltests we introduced overthe last six months.

Both these changes arenecessary in order tomake sure that the bloodwe provide to patients isas safe as possible.

Unfortunately, thismeans if you bring the oldquestionnaire to a sessionon or after 4th April thisyear, or the new onebefore, we will have toask you to complete thecorrect one at the session.

We are very sorry forany inconvenience thismay cause and we hopeyou will understand.

Staff and donors at Manchester BloodCentre recently received a surprise visit

from actor Max Beesley.The 32-year-old star, on a break from

filming a new series of the BBC drama‘Bodies’, was accompanying his dad, jazzdrummer Maxton Beesley, a regular blooddonor at the centre on Plymouth Grove inLongsight, Manchester.

Maxton says, "I’ve been giving blood for

years, and I used to take Max along with mewhen he was little. He’s been down here afew times and the staff all know him, sowhilst he was home for Christmas he washappy to come along and say hello."

Max says, "Dad has always been a reallycommitted blood donor so I’ve grown upknowing how important it is. I’ve done it afew times myself and it doesn’t hurt, in factI’d encourage everyone to do it."

Martin Gorham, ChiefExecutive of the

National Blood Authority(pictured above), has been

Changes to your Donor Health Check

England hosts the day

Max goes for a pint with his dad!Max Beesley with his father, jazz musician Maxton Beesley

Getting onside for donation The CFA oversees all

amateur football clubs in SouthYorkshire which comprise4,000 teams and around100,000 players, officials, staffand other volunteers.

The scheme has been giventhe personal backing of CFAchief executive James Hope-

Gill, whose son Timothyreceived many blood transfusions before losing hisbattle against a rare geneticdisease. James is enthusiasticabout the partnership, "I’mkeen that we do all we can towork together to encouragepeople to enrol as blooddonors. It is a tremendousthing to do,” he says.

Merger ahead for NBS

honoured with an OBE in theQueen’s New Year’s HonoursList. Martin, who previouslyworked for the LondonAmbulance Service, has beenhonoured for his services tothe NHS.

He says, "This came as a big surprise. When I saw theletter from Downing Street, I thought how pleasing it wasto have my career in the NHSrecognised in this way.

“I think it is particularlysatisfying to receive the awardwhilst I am Chief Executive of the NBA, as it reflects the combined efforts ofeverybody in the service anddonors together to meet theneeds of patients throughoutEngland and North Wales."

New Year’s Honour for Chief Executive

NEWS

Don’t forget the Helpline number 0845 7 711 711 SPRING 2005 THE DONOR5

Thanks to your continuing support, bloodstocks remain healthy. We’re now

planning our sessions for the Easter BankHolidays, and we know we can count on youto help us meet patient needs.

As usual, fewer sessions over the holidayperiod will put pressure on our platelet stocks.Almost two thirds of the platelets we send tohospitals come from regular blood donations.Platelets have a shelf life of only five days, so

we need to be sure that we can collect enoughat the sessions before, during and just after thebank holidays. So please, if you are due todonate at this time, do try to keep yourappointment.

You can check our blood bank levels any timeby visiting www.blood.co.uk and clicking onthe home page link. The graph on the rightshows how many days’ supply of red cells therewas for each group at the time of going to press.

Olympic gold medal-winning athlete Mark

Lewis-Francis called into hislocal blood donor session in Darlaston, West Midlands,to support the ethnic donor recruitment campaignrun by local communitywardens in the area.

Mark, part of the victorious4x100m sprint relay team in Athens last summer, wassupporting his friend

and neighbour, communitywarden Mohammed Bashrat,who was giving blood.

Mark also found himselfbusy signing autographs fordonors, local school childrenand staff!

Danny Goffey, from the band Supergrass,recently followed a family tradition by

signing up to become a blood donor. Danny, pictured above centre with one of

our recruiting team, was with his two sonsvisiting the London Dungeon and found time

to sign up at a blood donor recruitment event.He says, "Both my parents regularly give

blood but I’ve just never got round to signingup. I’m really happy to be helping maintain ourblood stocks and I know my Mum will be veryproud." We think so too, Danny!

John Peel It was with great sadness that we

learned of John Peel’s sudden death.John was a tremendous supporter ofgiving blood and gave his time freely tofilm one of our new TV advertisements.

After filming, John continued tosupport us, and only a few weeksbefore his death he featured in anextensive newspaper article aboutgiving blood.

Sadly, we’ve decided to withdrawfrom our TV campaign John's verypersonal story about his wife’s need forblood, because we feel that broad-casting it would be insensitive to bothhis family and his many fans.

Some of our campaignshave caught the judge’s

eye recently. Our ‘Lifeblood’series of programmes,featuring Blue Peter presenterJanet Ellis and broadcast onchannel Five, won an awardfor the best campaign in thepublic sector category at the2004 Campaign MagazineMedia Awards.

Judges commended theway the series went outsidenormal advertising routes todeliver the "Give blood"message. Meanwhile, at theDirect Marketing Associationawards, we picked up a gold

for our postal campaign to 17-year-olds, encouraging themto enrol as first-time donors.

There was also a bronze fora leaflet delivered door todoor, which urged people togive blood at their localsession.

At the National CustomerService Awards 2004, ourMilton Keynes team reachedthe final four in the ‘CustomerServices Team of the Year’ inthe Pharmaceutical andHealthcare category.

All-in-all we have done verywell, and it is great to berecognised in this way.

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We’ve got the golden touch

Olympic medal winnersupports ethnic drive

Olympic medal-winnerMark Lewis-Francis givessupport to donor carerRachel Weston and friendMohammed Bashrat

Blood stocks update

New blood donor from Supergrass

Give before you go on holiday call 0845 7 711 711

RECIPIENT STORY

6 THE DONOR SPRING 2005

Doug Miller was seriously ill with a rare bloodcondition. It was a race against time to save him

A chance in a million

When Doug Miller beganto get a headache oneafternoon back in April

2002, he took some painkillersand assumed it would pass.Instead it became so bad thatDoug and his wife Tula went to hisGP - and that’s the last thing heremembers. Seven days later hewoke up in Oxford’s John RadcliffeHospital, wondering how a mereheadache had got him there.

Doug’s wife told him that he hadactually returned from the doctor’sfully conscious, despite him havingno memory of it.

Tula recalls, "Around tea time, I noticed that Doug was slurring hisspeech. During the evening hiscondition worsened so I took himup to bed. At 4am Doug collapsed

so I called for an ambulance.Looking back it was an extremelydistressing time and knowing nowhow close he was to death, I can’tbelieve how we got through it. I guess that at the time I just wentinto automatic pilot."

Looking for cluesAt the hospital, Doug’s breathingstopped and doctors were upagainst the clock to find out whatwas wrong. They sent a bloodsample to the haematologydepartment to see if that wouldoffer any clues.

Tests showed Doug had a verylow platelet count. From this, andother symptoms, the consultant on duty that evening, Dr SylviaBenjamin, diagnosed Thrombotic

Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP). TTP is an extremely rare,

sometimes fatal, blood conditionthat affects just one in a millionadults. The disease affects theplasma – the fluid part of the blood- and makes the platelets in theblood clump together and formsmall clots. These usually occur inthe blood vessels of the brain andkidneys, causing fever, headacheand confusion, all the symptomsthat Doug was displaying. As moreclots form, the platelet count falls –this was the clue that Sylviaspotted.

Doug’s only hope of survival was

a plasma exchange. He was put ona cell separator machine. Thisremoved his diseased plasma andreplaced it with healthy donatedplasma.

But it wasn’t one simpleexchange for Doug. After the firstplasma exchange it looked likeDoug’s brain might have sufferedirreversible damage. He was givenmore treatment during the night togive him the best chance ofresponding.

A lengthy stayIt took seven days and 84 bags ofplasma before he regainedconsciousness. Waiting for Doug torespond was an agonising time forTula and the rest of the family.

"When Doug was on lifesupport, I didn’t want to leave him.I just remember thinking that aslong as I was with him, holding hishand, he wasn’t going anywhere."

Doug needed a further 343 bagsof plasma, plus chemotherapy andsteroid treatments to suppress the

TTP. In the seven weeks Doug wasin hospital, he was hooked up tothe cell separator for 130 hours.Doug says, "I felt like it was nevergoing to end."

Although a relapse is possible,Doug doesn’t spend too much timeworrying about it. He’s full of praisefor the team that treated him.

"So many people contributed to saving my life, from all the staff at the John Radcliffe Hospitalto the donors that provided me with the plasma. To this day, I am totally overwhelmed andextremely grateful."

Now Tula, encouraged by Doug,has become a blood donor on hisbehalf. As he says, "My account iswell overdrawn!"See story page 10

Acell separator machine takes whole blood from a patient andspins it at high speed until it separates into its components:

red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma. When treating patients,the machine removes just the part of the patient’s blood that is diseased and replaces it with healthy, donated, blood components.

The machine is also used for component donors. It separates thedonor’s blood into its components, takes the part that we need –usually platelets – and returns the rest to the donor.

The machine that does it all

Top: Doug with Dr SylviaBenjamin and Anja Tusold, Nurse Manager. Above: with his wife Tula

Become a platelet donor call 0845 7 711 711 SPRING 2005 THE DONOR 7

TECHNOLOGY

The blood you donate can’tjust be put in a bag andsent to hospitals. In a

matter of minutes your donationwill start to clot. Which means it’sno use for patients. So to preventthis, every blood pack contains ananti-clotting agent. To work prop-erly, the agent needs to be mixedwith your blood at the bedside.

Until now, this mixing was doneby hand by the donor carerslooking after you. They had togently rock the blood pack every 60seconds to keep your blood wellmixed with the agent. This was atime-consuming job and madelooking after more than one donorat a time difficult.

A better wayNow we have new, battery-operated agitator machines to do the same job. A gently rockingtray alongside the bed willautomatically mix your blood withthe anti-clotting agent as youdonate. With the new machinestaking care of this task, donorcarers can safely look after twodonors at once, which shouldmean shorter waiting times.

It was at a company session inHampshire that an under-strengthSouthampton West team really sawthe benefits that the new machinescould offer.

As team manager Diana Carrexplains, “We were four staffmembers down, and had alreadyfaced problems on previous visitswith people having to wait too longto donate. Without the agitators,we could only have manned four

beds. With an anticipated 140donors, it would have been all butimpossible to take all theirdonations. The machines allowedus to see twice as many donors,

Rock and roll!When our Southampton West team were askedto try out some new whole blood agitatormachines, they were so impressed that theyrefused to give them back!

agitator trial the team refused togive them back – now they’d seenhow quickly a session could run,they never wanted to go back tothe old way!

The trials were so successful thatwe decided to kit out all our teamswith the machines. Watch out forthese new machines at the side of your bed when you next giveblood.

Other benefitsThe agitators have otheradvantages too. They can beprogrammed to keep tabs on adonor’s blood flow rate anddonation time, and the donation is

automatically stopped when it’scomplete. That means donor carersdon’t have to bend over so much tomake these checks, which is betterfor their backs!

It seems you are happy with thenew set-up too. In fact,compliments have gone up sincewe started using the agitators.

People do appreciate the quickerdonation times, and many donorsare very impressed with the extrainformation we can now givethem, like their blood flow rate.We’re also making sure that we stillgive one-to-one care for newdonors who may feel nervous.

It’s clear that something is‘stirring’ on session, and it looks likebeing good news for both teamsand donors alike.

with the same number of staff. Thismeant that the waiting time wasreduced significantly.”

By the afternoon word had gotround as to how well the sessionwas running. Donors who were notgoing to give, because of longwaits at previous sessions, came into donate. Although that shouldhave been the last day of the

The new piece of kit onto which we put yourblood pack is doing a vital job. Blood clots soon

after it leaves the body, but back in 1914 scientistsdiscovered that adding sodium citrate to bloodstopped it clotting and preserved it.

Then scientists found that adding glucose as wellas sodium citrate allowed blood to be stored forseveral days if it was refrigerated. Today, our bloodpacks contain all the things needed to keep the

cells in your donation in good condition for up tofive weeks. There’s saline which helps to keep theblood liquid, adenine which provides energy, glucose which is the fuel for this energy, and mannitol which keeps the cells in shape.

The new rocking trays make sure that, in everydonation pack, all these ingredients are well mixedwith the blood. The added bonus is that the newtrays free up our donor carers to look after more of you because they no longer need to do thetime-consuming mixing themselves.

The yellow tray gently rocks andmixes the anti-clotting agentwith the donated blood, freeingup the donor carer to safely lookafter two donors at one time

“It seems you

are happy with the

new set-up too.

In fact,

compliments

have gone up since

we started using

the agitators.“

Stop the clot!

You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465

AIR AMBULANCE


Dr Sabeena Qureshi was flownto Jamie’s side. Normally the LAAonly flies inside the M25, but, shesays, "Because his injuries were so

critical, we flew outside the area tocollect him." She found Jamie hadserious spinal, abdominal andpelvic injuries. She was also reallyconcerned about his blood loss.

"Jamie’s pelvis had been pushed

through the soft tissue of hisbuttocks and had come out of theother side. He was losing massiveamounts of blood. I had to realignhis pelvis to try and reduce this life-threatening blood loss."

Race to hospitalSabeena managed to reduceJamie’s bleeding and put him in apelvic splint. But Jamie needed toget to hospital fast. Sabeenadecided to fly Jamie to the RoyalLondon Hospital, where highlyskilled orthopaedic surgeons couldquickly operate on his pelvis.

Jamie was rushed into theatreand received over ten units ofblood. He was gravely ill andmedical staff feared he would notsurvive the first night in hospital.His girlfriend Emma says, "I sawJamie at the track when he was firsttaken to the medical centre, butwhen I got to the hospital and thedoctor explained his list of injuries, Icouldn’t even bear to look or listen.

Jamie Morley owes his life to the LondonAir Ambulance team. We go behind thescenes of this uniqueemergency service

Hopes were riding high lastsummer for promisingyoung motorbike racer

Jamie Morley, who was competingin the National SuperstockChampionship at Brands Hatch inKent. Then disaster struck.

Minutes after the race started,Jamie had to swerve to avoid a crash, and fell off his bike. To his horror, as he lay on the track, another motorbike hurtledtowards him.

Jamie, 31, who lives with hisgirlfriend Emma on Hayling Island,near Portsmouth, says, "I could seethe whole track in front of me and themotorbike, which had lost its rider,came straight towards me. I was stillconscious but after it hit me, I knew Iwas really seriously injured because Icouldn’t feel my legs."

Specialist helpTrackside doctors assessed him.Jamie had truly appalling injuriesand was bleeding heavily. Heneeded immediate specialisttreatment. The doctors decided tocall London’s Air Ambulance (LAA),also known as the HelicopterEmergency Medical Service(HEMS), for urgent help.

The LAA service is unique, withits onboard specially trainedtrauma doctor and paramedic. Aswell as treating a casualty at thescene, they can anaesthetise andgive potent pain relief – proceduresnormally undertaken only inhospital emergency rooms. Thecare delivered by a doctor in thosecritical first minutes, combinedwith the speed of the helicopter,can make a profound difference topatients’ chances of survival andtheir long-term future.

Emergency doctors

Above: Jamie today with Emma

– taking the hospital tothThe LAA ready for action on topof the Royal London Hospital

Become a blood donor call 0845 7 711 711 SPRING 2005 THE DONOR 9

AIR AMBULANCE

When I saw him later in hospital, he looked so awful, it was very frightening. After the firstoperation, the doctors told me thatJamie had 24 hours to fight for it. Itwas a tense time."

The internal bleeding continuedand Jamie received many moreblood transfusions whilst doctorscarried out further operations.

Jamie says, "I spent four weeksin intensive care and was heavilyanaesthetised, but one of the firstthings I remember from when Iwoke up was having a bloodtransfusion. Over the course of thenext few weeks, my stomach wastaken in and out of me five timesuntil I finally stopped bleeding. Allthis time I was losing blood and wasreliant on donated blood to replacemy own. My stomach remainedopen for some time until they couldput a skin graft over it. It was prettyhorrible looking down at that."

Another flightAfter eight weeks, Jamie wasmoved to Chichester GeneralHospital to be nearer his family andEmma, who had been staying inLondon. But because he was still in

a critical condition and needed highdependency medical care, the LAAteam were called in to fly him toChichester.

Eight months on, Jamie hasreturned home and is now a daypatient at Chichester. He has somenerve damage in his legs and isawaiting an operation on his

Above: Jamie with some of histrophies that he won motor cycleracing. Above right: at the track

● London’s Air Ambulance (LAA) – alsoknown as the Helicopter Emergency MedicalService (HEMS) – recently celebrated 15 yearsof treating London’s most critically injuredpatients. The service operates from a helipadabove the A&E department at The RoyalLondon Hospital in Whitechapel and isunique in the UK. ● The distinctive red LAA helicopter fliesseven days a week in daylight hours, andmakes approximately 1000 missions a year. Itis airborne within two minutes of receiving acall and can reach anywhere within the M25in 12 minutes or less.● Only one third of patients treated arebrought back to the Royal London Hospital.The rest go to either a local hospital or specialist centres, particularly Kings CollegeHospital which also has all major specialistson site ready to treat badly injured patients.● There is a fast response car that carries anLAA doctor and paramedic when the

helicopter cannot fly or is unavailable. Due tofunding, it currently operates only threenights a week.● Typical patients treated by the LAA serviceare pedestrians who have been hit by cars,crash victims or people who have beeninjured falling from buildings.● Trauma patients are met in the Accidentand Emergency department at the RoyalLondon by a full trauma team. The teamleader is generally a consultant general

surgeon, senior registrar or an Accident andEmergency senior doctor. The aim is for thepatient to be investigated and treated in theshortest possible time and for definitivetreatment to be started within one hour ofthe accident. This is the so-called "goldenhour" – the time immediately after an accident when a patient’s chances of survivalare highest. ● If a major incident such as a train crash orbombing occurs, LAA can fly teams of doctorsand paramedics to attend patients at thescene as well as airlifting them to hospital.LAA has attended train crashes atPaddington, Southall, Hatfield, Potters Bar,Cannon Street and Moorgate and bombingincidents at Bishopsgate, Canary Wharf,Soho, Brick Lane and Aldwych.● The service is funded by the NHS with additional corporate sponsorship and charitable funding. To support London’s Air Ambulance call 020 7943 1302 or email [email protected]

LAA – the facts

e patientstomach, but he is feeling lucky tobe alive. "I certainly owe my life tothe LAA team. Without them Idon’t think I would be here today. Ihave said a big thank you toSabeena and the team."

Sabeena has kept up-to-datewith Jamie’s progress. "Jamie had avery difficult first few weeks but hemade a slow, sure recovery. I didn’tknow whether I would ever see himwalking again and was delighted tosee him becoming mobile soquickly," she says.

Jamie also has a message forblood donors. "My girlfriend andher mum recently went along to

donate blood. This accident hascertainly made us all realise justhow much blood is needed bypatients. I think I have had my fairshare of blood! Thank you to themany blood donors who ensuredthere was enough to pump backinto me when I needed it."

Jamie adds that for now, he willbe steering clear of motorbikes andconcentrating on getting himselfback to full health.

Become a bone marrow donor call 0845 7 711 711

MEET THE EXPERT


Blood is so interesting!Well it is for Moji Gesinde who achieved her dream of becoming a doctorand is now our National Lead Consultant for Component Donation andTherapeutic Apheresis in Leeds. She talks about her work

developing national policies andprocedures in my area of expertise.

What is component donation? In our clinics, we have specialmachines called cell separators.These can be used to take outred cells, white cells, platelets orplasma from blood. Componentdonation involves taking blood

components such as platelets froma donor. We can also use the samemethod to remove abnormal cellsfrom a patient’s blood.

Why is component donation soimportant?Our cell separator machines cantake enough platelets from onedonor in a single donation to treat

up to three adults. Normally when we take platelets from wholeblood we have to put together four donations to get enough totreat one adult.

Cell separators can also be usedto obtain stem cells - special cells inbone marrow that make all types ofblood cells. Donated stem cells arevital for treating many blooddiseases. We can give injections tostem cell donors that make themproduce extra stem cells. These canthen be taken from their bloodusing a cell separator.

How can cell separators help totreat patients?Our cell separator machines can beused to take out virtually anythingfrom the blood. I was woken at6:30am recently with a call about asix-month-old baby who had justbeen diagnosed with a form ofleukaemia which causes the body toproduce excess white blood cells.

By 9.00am we were in thehospital with a cell separator,removing the extra white cells sothat treatment could begin. Thisreminded me that although I’mlucky to work with healthy donors a

lot of the time, I’m still a doctor whohelps patients.

You must work hard. How doyou relax?I love cooking and food, and go tothe gym to make up for it! I also playthe piano and enjoy reading,travelling and visiting friends.See story page 6

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Why did you decide to becomea doctor?I can remember exactly the momentI decided to become a doctor! WhenI was eight I fractured my wrist and ayoung, handsome doctor set it inplaster for me. I remember thinkingit was a wonderful thing to do. Also,it was always my father’s wish that Ibecome a doctor.

Where did you train?In Nigeria. I did a first degree, gotmarried and then started mypostgraduate training in haema-tology. My husband and I decidedwe wanted to travel the world andwe eventually ended up in the UK,where I continued my haematologytraining. I’ve always had aconnection with the UK - my fatherstudied and worked in London for awhile, and I lived here until I wasabout five years old.

So you already had an interestin blood. When did you startworking for us?In 1988 I went on a transfusionmedicine course at Sheffield BloodCentre. It was a revelation. As ahospital doctor, you order bloodand it just arrives. You don’t alwaysthink about what happens behindthe scenes. I was fascinated, andrealised I could have a whole careerin transfusion medicine. After that, Istarted looking for a job as a seniorregistrar with the NBS. There wereonly five jobs that trained you for acareer in transfusion medicine in thecountry at the time, but luckily I gotone in Manchester.

What is your job now?I’m now the National LeadConsultant for ComponentDonation and TherapeuticApheresis, based in Leeds. I run thespecialist component donation andpatient treatment centre at Leeds,as well as taking responsibility for

Dr Gesinde always finds time tocheck on her patients, picturedright with Matthew Barker

Find out where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk SPRING 2005 THE DONOR 11

RECIPIENT STORY

F orty years ago, DickUnsworth thought it wouldbe a good idea to

mess around with home-made fireworks. It nearly cost him his life.

"Some friends and I made aseries of fireworks, each one moresophisticated and louder than thelast, until one made from a length ofpipe exploded and blew my righthand off… back to the drawingboard!" Dick laughs about it now,but it was very serious.

"I was rushed to hospital in a car,bleeding heavily. My arm wastemporarily closed up and I wassedated. Then when the bleedingwas stopped doctors amputatedwhat was left of my hand just belowthe wrist. I also needed quite a fewblood transfusions to replace all thelost blood – these saved my life.

Near death"I was so high on painkillers Ithought I didn’t remember a thingabout it, but a few years ago I saw aCatholic priest on television givingthe Last Rites and wondered whythe words seemed so familiar. Thenit struck me – the doctors weren’tsure I’d live, so a priest administeredthem just in case. Luckily I pulled

through, and after ten days inhospital I was allowed to go home.

"At the time, I was very upsetabout losing my hand, but lookingback I think if there’s a ‘good’ age tolose a hand, 13 might be it. I’dalready had all the fun of childhoodthat you need two hands for –things like climbing trees – but Ihadn’t yet learnt adult skills, likedriving a car, which I had to learn todo single-handed!

"After leaving school I went to artschool to study Fine Arts, and ended

up specialising in pottery. I met mywife Jill around the same time, andboth being independent types weneeded to work for ourselves. Wemoved up to Ingleton, in NorthYorkshire, shortly after we married,

me to push myself. I’ve done allsorts of things over the years – I usedto go pot-holing and I helped outwith quite a few undergroundrescues. We rescued a lad who hada badly cut hand, and when we gothim out he saw me, and a friend ofmine with a wooden leg whohelped pull him out. He said he felt abit of a fraud!"

Regular donorAs well as running a successfulbusiness, and playing harmonica inthe Bad Taste Blues Band, Dick hasanother regular fixture in his life –giving blood. After blood saved hislife all those years ago, he resolvedto give a little back, and he becamea donor as soon as he was oldenough to do so.

Over 50 donations later, he’s stillgiving. Dick says, "It’s the least I cando. Thanks to the people who gaveblood to save me all those years agoI’ve been able to lead a rich andinteresting life. I hope the bloodthat I’ve given has maybe helpedsomeone else to get through a bad patch."

His wife Jill adds, "His attitude togiving blood is rather like hisattitude to life… just do it… no halfmeasures… at least an armful!"

and set up our pottery business.We’ve been up here for 30 yearsnow, and our son Dan has joined usin the business – it’s definitely a realfamily affair!

Worked out his own way"Some people think it’s strange thatI work in a profession where you’dthink two hands are the absoluteminimum needed, although I don’tsee it like that. I was so young whenI lost my hand that I’ve worked outmy own way of doing things. I’venever let it stop me doing anything Iwanted; in fact I think it encourages

Dick Unsworth likes a challenge. So a childhoodaccident that took away one hand hasn’tstopped him fulfilling his dreams. Donating isnow part of his life – his way of paying back thelife-saving blood he received forty years ago

Dick received blood 40 years ago, so the recent change in donorguidelines, as a new precautionary measure against the transmission of vCJD, do not apply to him. If, like Dick, you receiveda transfusion before 1980 you can still donate. The current rule fordonors only applies to those people who have received blood orthink they may have received blood in the UK since 1 January 1980.

Donating after a transfusion

The potter’s tale

Left: Dick at work on a new pot.Below: Dick shows off some ofhis finished work

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You can host a company session call 0845 7 711 711

OVER TO YOU


will still continue to send out themagazine as not everyone hasaccess to the internet. However,should you not wish to receivethe magazine through the post please call 0845 7 711 711and we will take you off ourmailing list.

Name that tuneAfter the last issue went to print, themusic from our TV adverts came outon a CD album set. Called ‘Relaxand Escape by Classic FM’, it’savailable in Woolworth’s, HMV,Virgin, WH Smith and all goodrecord stores.

Never too young to learnLast time I donated blood, my nine-year-old daughterStephanie came with me. She’s been lots of times and isalways very interested. She read through yourmagazines whilst waiting, and when we got home, shedrew this lovely poster. I thought I’d share it with you.

I think it’s important that children are encouraged atdonor centres. I always went with my mum and she’sapproaching her 70th donation. Watching herencouraged me to become a donor, and hopefully, thetradition will be passed on.JULIE HARBON

WEST HALLAM

Editor’s response: Thank you to Stephanie for drawing thislovely poster. Let’s hope that she does indeed follow in yourfamily footsteps and keep up the family tradition. See page 16 for more blood donor families.

Left: Star Winner Julie with Stephanie. Right: The poster

IS IT TRUE THAT...

QI’m a teacher; some of thechildren in my class have

measles. Can I donate?

A If you have had measlesyourself you may donate. If

you haven’t or aren’t sure pleasewait for four weeks and then,providing you feel well, you maydonate.

QCan I stay on the BritishBone Marrow Registry

(BBMR) even though I havebeen asked not to give bloodbecause I have had a bloodtransfusion?

AYes. We would like you tostay on the BBMR Register. If

you were to be identified as asuitable donor for a patientrequiring a bone marrow or stemcell transplant, such matches are so

rare that the immediate needs ofthe patient would outweigh anypossible risk of the patientcontracting vCJD.

QIs platelet donation safe?How can you be sure that

blood isn’t infected orcontaminated whilst in themachine?

APlatelet donations arecollected and processed

within a sealed, disposable kitwithin the machine. Blood iscompletely contained within thetubes and bags, from when itleaves the donor and passesthrough the machine to its returnto the donor. There is no risk ofcross-infection.

QI have Gilbert’s syndrome.Is it true my donated blood

could cause jaundice in arecipient?

ANo. Gilbert’s syndrome is acommon disorder affecting

about 1 in 20 of the population. Itaffects the way your liver processesbile and can cause mild jaundice(yellowness). It doesn’t requiretreatment. You may donate as longas you are fit and well and notjaundiced at the time of donation.

QI went to Goa in December,when can I donate again?

AAnyone who has visited amalarial risk area can come to

donate six months after theirreturn as long as they are fit andwell. We will carry out a test formalarial antibodies, and a negativeresult means a donation can besafely used.

FeedbackJust thought I'd drop you a line tosay that I really enjoy reading TheDonor. Working in marketingcommunications myself I knowhow infrequently people let youknow when something is good(people seem much more ready tocomplain!) and it's also hard to getany feedback. In this age ofinformation overload I rarely seemto find the time to fully read anypublication, but I can honestly say Iread the recent issue of The Donorfrom cover to cover - so keep up thegood work!MARY WALMSLEY BY EMAIL

Editor’s response: It’s alwaysgood to receive your feedbackon The Donor. It is your

magazine so please do let usknow what you’ve liked ordisliked and any suggestions youmay have to make it even better.

The Donor onlineCould you put The Donor on to theNBS website to save on paper andpostage? So many people nowhave broadband it would be

possible for them to readeasily a 16- page colourmagazine on their screen. CHRIS GARDINER BY EMAIL

Editor’s response: You will findThe Donor on our websitewww.blood.co.uk. For currentand back issues of The Donorclick on News/Publication andscroll down to ‘The Donor’. We

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.

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 or email [email protected]

STAR

LETTERSTAR

LETTER

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STARLETTER

A Star Letter will be chosen forthe next issue of The Donor. Thewriter will be invited to visit aBlood Centre and given a behindthe scenes tour. You’ll don a whitecoat, visit our laboratories and seewhat happens to a donation ofblood. You’ll meet the peoplewho are responsible for makingsure that vital blood and bloodproducts get from the donor tothe patient who needs them.

Register as an organ donor see www.blood.co.uk

MY LIFEJOSIE JACKSON

LABORATORY TESTING MANAGER

SPRING 2005 THE DONOR 13

Bristol testing manager JosieJackson has seen manychanges during her 25

years with the National BloodService. "It used to be all test tubesand pipettes!" she says.

Thanks to advances in science andtechnology most of the testing isnow automated, although thehuman touch is still vital.

Josie’s team of laboratoryscientists must test over 1,000donations each day to make surethey’re safe to be issued to hospitals.And the pressure’s on because bloodplatelets have a short shelf life, sospeed is vital. That means the teamhave to be organised to work shifts – from 8am until midnight.

Says Josie, "Because plateletsonly have a five day shelf life, it’s arace against time to get all the teststhrough before two o’clock the dayafter the donations are taken. Witha minimum of 13 tests to completeon every donation before it can belabelled and sent off to hospitals,every day is a challenge! Getting asmany donations out to hospitals aswe do is a real achievement, and acredit to everyone who’s involved."

Three samplesTesting starts while the actualdonations are being processed. Thethree samples taken from eachdonation at session are whisked offto be checked: one for bloodgrouping, one for HIV, syphilis,hepatitis B and C antibodies, whilethe third is sent to our labs inBirmingham where it’s tested forHTLV and the hepatitis C virus.

Josie starts every day with a visit tothe labs so she can check there havebeen no problems during the lateshift, such as a piece of machinerybreaking down.

She says, "Because Bristol alsotests donations from the Oxford andPlymouth areas we have to be extracareful that things don’t go wrong.But, having two of every machinemeans we always have a back-upshould something go wrong."

Josie regularly meets her Oxfordand Plymouth colleagues. Todaythey are discussing a modification toa test that detects naturally-occurring antibodies in blood.Vulnerable patients, for examplenew born babies, should onlyreceive components that have lowlevels of antibodies, so this meetingis really important for improvingpatient safety.

"Also, whenever a new test isintroduced it can affect the otherblood centres, so I need to discuss itwith my colleagues. Nothing stands

still - we have to keep improving,introducing new equipment andtests, so that we can maintain thehighest possible levels of safety,accuracy and efficiency. "

Emergency planningAfter lunch, Josie rushes off to a meeting on emergency planning.As emergency planning managerfor the centre, Josie has to beprepared for the unexpectedhappening.

"If there were a power cutwe would have to be surethat the back-up generator isworking. I would need toliaise with staff from otherdepartments who make upour local emergency team. Itwould be my job to makesure the problem didn’taffect our service, and thatultimately patients still gotthe blood they needed."

Another meeting, thenJosie’s back at her desk to

Josie Jackson heads a team of 22 at the Bristollaboratories, where blood from the South andSouth West of England is tested before it issent to hospitals. She describes a typical day

catch up on paperwork. "With 22staff to manage, there’s alwayssomething to do! At the moment Ihave one member of staff going fortheir state registration oral exam,known as a viva. This is an essentialqualification for any member of staffworking in these labs so it's vital thatI make sure they get the appropriatestudy leave from work."

Josie makes one last visit roundthe labs, then heads home.

Automated and semi-automat-ed equipment test the 1,000plus donations that arrive everyday at the Bristol laboratories.Our blood grouping machinescan perform tests on 240 samples an hour.

New donors’ blood samplesare tested twice and the resultscompared. Regular donors’ samples are tested once and theresults checked against thosefrom their previous donations.A system of bar codes matches test results to samples,using a laser reader similar tothat at supermarket checkouts.

Getting results

Put to the test!

Above: Josie (centre) withcolleagues at the laboratory. Below: Unwinding after workwith some dressmaking

Don’t forget the Helpline number 0845 7 711 711

CORD BLOOD


A second chance for MatthewEleven-year-old Matthew

owes his life to cord blood.When his mum, AnnetteRobinson, found suspiciousbruises on her son, she fearedthe worst. Blood tests confirmedthat acute myeloid leukaemiahad returned for a second time.

Doctors said Matthew’s onlyhope of beating the illness was a bone marrow or cordblood transplant. Annette, fromDerbyshire, says, "Matthew’s anonly child, so there were no siblings to check for a bone marrow match, and there wasn’ttime to search the registries foran unrelated match. We were

told a cord blood match was a possibility, if onecould be found. We had an anxious three-weekwait and then one day, the doctor walked in andsaid a donation had been found. We felt hugerelief and new hope."Now she says, "Thanks to that cord blood,

Matthew is a happy, lively 11-year-old boy. I am sograteful to the lady who had the foresight todonate, because without it, I doubt Matthewwould be with us today. Thank you very much."

Umbilical cord blood used to be thrown away.Now it’s being used to save lives(see panel below). Mothers at these hospitals are routinely given information about cord blood donation as part of their antenatal programme andparentcraft classes.

How is cord blood donated?Before the birth, the midwife willask the mother if she would like todonate her cord blood. If sheagrees, trained staff will collect hercord blood donation.

This is taken to the Bank forprocessing, screening and tissuetyping. To obtain the stem cells theblood is spun to separate the

components. The plasma and redcells are removed to reduce thevolume of the donation to just 21ml.

The stem cells are then frozen,and can be stored for more than 20years. A cryoprotectant solution, abit like antifreeze, is added toprotect the cells from damageduring freezing. The entire process,from donation to freezing, must be completed within 48 hours.

About 10 weeks after the birth,following the health check ofmother and baby, the Bank phonesthe mother to complete the donorassessment and check that she stillwants her donation to be used. If

she does, the mother then answersa series of questions about hermedical history, similar to those inthe Donor Health Check, to confirmthat the donation is safe to give to apatient. If all’s well, the donation isregistered on the British BoneMarrow Registry and on NETCORD,the international cord blood registrywhere transplant centres can searchfor a match for their patients.

Are cord transplants suitablefor everyone?There are pros and cons. Theremust be enough stem cells in thedonation to treat the patient – thelarger the patient, the more stemcells are needed. With the use ofdouble cord blood transplants,most patients without an availablebone marrow donor can find asuitable cord blood donation. A bone marrow donor can take upto six months to arrange. Cordblood, as an off-the-shelf product,can be available in just two days.

Another plus for cord blood isthat close matching of tissue typeseems to be less important thanwith a bone marrow transplant,although doctors will always try tofind the best match for their patient.So far the Bank has stored over7,000 donations of cord blood andhelped 86 patients in 14 countries.

A new kind of life-saverT he secret of cord blood – the

blood left in the placentaand umbilical cord after a

baby is born – is that it containsstem cells, which have the capabili-ty of making new blood cells.

Scientists spotted their potentialfor treating illnesses such asleukaemia in the mid Seventies,and in 1989 the first cord bloodtransplant was performed. Sincethen over 3,000 transplants havebeen carried out worldwide.

We set up the NHS Cord BloodBank in 1996, with the aim ofobtaining voluntary cord blooddonations from mothers for use byanyone anywhere in the world.

Currently mothers can donatecord blood in only a few hospitals

How can I donate cord blood?Currently, you can only donatecord blood if you are having your baby in one of the hospitals where we have dedicated trained staff.

These are Barnet GeneralHospital, Northwick Park, andLuton and Dunstable Hospital.They serve a wide ethnic community, allowing a greaternumber of mothers fromdiverse ethnic backgrounds tomake donations.

Currently 42 per cent of cordblood in the NHS Cord BloodBank is from minority ethnicgroups. This greatly increasesthe variety of tissue types available for patients needingtransplants, and so improvesthe chances of finding a match.

Above: Matthew, a real bookworm, enjoys agood vampire novel. Left: with his mum and dad

You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465 SPRING 2005 THE DONOR 15

PRIZE CROSSWORD

NBS INFORMATIONIf you have a general enquiry or need any information about givingblood, just call the 24 hour Donor Helpline on 0845 7 711 711and staff will 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 your giving blood

• Any other general donor mattersRemember, you can call the Helpline to tell us if you have moved house orchanged employers – we don't want to lose you!DON’T FORGET BBC2 Ceefax page 465 will give you details of blood donorsessions in your TV region over the next two days.

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

NORTH Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield. NORTH EAST Newcastle-upon-Tyne. NORTH WEST Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester. MIDLANDS Birmingham,Leicester, Nottingham, Oxford, Stoke-on-Trent. LONDON Edgware, Tooting,West End. SOUTH EAST Luton, Cambridge, Brentwood. SOUTH WEST Bristol,Gloucester, Plymouth, Southampton.

We always need new donors. So please, ifyou are not a donor, fill out the couponbelow, place it in an envelope and send it toNational Blood Service, FREEPOST, 75Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 7YB, or call0845 7 711 711 now to enrol as a 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 above.MO6

I would like to join the NHS Blood Donor Register as someonewho may be contacted and would be prepared to donateblood. I understand that the National Blood Service (NBS) or itspartners may phone, write or otherwise contact me with detailsof local donor sessions. I agree to the NBS holding my person-al details on their donor database and processing this infor-mation as necessary for the proper administration of the NBS.

ACROSS1 Bilbo or Frodo maybe (6)4 Sixth day (6)8 Heart specialists (13)10 Sister of Orestes (7)11 Form of oxygen (5)

Complete the crossword, then rearrange the letters in thehighlighted squares to make a two word phrase relating tothe NBS. Send the words on a postcard together with yourname, address and daytime phone number to Crossword

Competition, The Donor, NBS, West Derby Street, Liverpool L7 8TW. You could win a new ‘Amazing’ NBS sports umbrella.You can check the answers and winners in the next issue ofThe Donor. All entries must be received by April 30th 2005.

Congratulations to Miss AnnLight from Filton, Bristol whocorrectly answered last issue’scrossword. The correct answerwas SAVING LIVES

12 Allowed (9)16 Big sea (5)17 Get better (7)19 Oscars (7,6)20 Discrimination against

oldies? (6)21 Singer Bing (6)

DOWN1 Game on field or on ice (6)2 A guide to lords and

baronets (6,7)3 Fool (5)5 Type of weed (7)6 Author of The Naked

Ape (7,6)7 Acquiescent sycophants (3,3)9 Financial obligation (9)13 Glasgow soccer team (7)14 Musical composition (6)15 One of the Channel

Islands (6)18 Dominion (5)

LAST ISSUE’S SOLUTION

Become a bone marrow donor call 0845 7 711 711

NEWS EXTRA


Saving lives: it’s in the bloodPrecious possessions can be

passed down through family generations –

anything from grandma’s antique jewellery to mum’s secret cakerecipe. In the Steele family, motherJanet is passing on something to her four children that she feels is more valuable than anypossession: being a blood donor.

Janet, from Birmingham, begangiving blood in 1956 after beingpersuaded to go by a workcolleague. Like many of our loyaldonors Janet decided to give bloodfor one simple reason, "I just felt itwas something I could do to helpothers. I could spare it, and someoneelse could benefit from it."

Now approaching her 79th pint,Janet has a clear dedication toblood donation. She knew shewanted her children to follow herexample. As each of her fourchildren in turn became oldenough, Janet encouraged them tocome with her to a blood donorsession and donate their first pint.

Little did the family know that oneof them would need bloodthemselves.

In October 2002, after severalyears of being a blood donor,Janet’s daughter Jane becamepregnant. She had a trouble-freepregnancy, but complications afterthe birth meant that Jane neededan operation and an emergencytransfusion to replace lost blood.

After her operation, husband

Robin decided he should giveblood. Jane says, "Robin takesgiving blood very seriously. He’sonly missed one donation, becausehe caught a cold, and since then hekeeps well away from anyone witha bug if he’s due to donate!"

Like father, like sonOf course dads can set a life-savingexample too. Malcolm Robinson,now 69, began donating during his

National Service days when it wasvery much encouraged. Afterleaving the RAF in the late 1960s hebumped into a work colleague whowas going to give blood, anddecided to start up again. Sincethen he’s barely missed a session.Malcolm says, "I can rememberwhen the blood was collected inglass bottles!"

Malcolm’s eldest son Mark waseager to follow in his dad’sfootsteps and joined his dad atsessions from the age of 11. Marksays, "I went purely out of curiosityto see what went on, and of coursethe drink and biscuits went downwell! When I reached 18 I hadalready decided I wanted to be ablood donor." Mark rolled up hissleeve for the first time just twodays after his 18th birthday and likehis father has continued to giveregularly. Malcolm’s youngest sonDarren followed his brother a fewyears later, also donating just afterhis 18th birthday.

In June 2004 all three Robinsonsreached milestone donationswithin days of each other. Malcolmreached his 75th, Mark his 50thand Darren his 25th donation, socollectively they have made 150

donations, potentially saving manylives. Malcolm is fast approachinghis 70th birthday, when,unfortunately we will have to askhim to stop donating, but eldestson Mark will be sure to carry onthe tradition. "It’s something we allfeel very strongly about. Both Dadand myself have rare blood groupsso I want to keep giving for thatreason alone."

Bring a friendMore than one in every four peoplewho enrol to give blood have beenencouraged by a friend or relative.Around 80 per cent of them go onto become donors. Overall, onlyabout 50 per cent of all enrolees goon to donate, so those who arerecommended are much morelikely to become donors, and inturn spread the word themselves.

Many new donors have told usthey were really helped by havingsomeone they knew with them thefirst time they donated. If you knowsomeone who is interested inbecoming a blood donor, why notinvite him or her along to your nextsession? If they call 0845 7 711 711they can enrol and make anappointment to donate at theirnearest session at the same time.

Giving blood can be a real family affair. We meettwo donor families, the Steeles and the Robinsons

Blood links: Malcolm, Mark andDarren Robinson. Left: Jane andRobin with their daughter

More than one

in every four people

who enrol to give

blood have been

encouraged by

a friend or relative.

Around 80 per cent of

them go on

to become donors

Documents

The Donor - Spring 2005