The ultimate gift - blood

Spurred on by a desire to find out what his reaction to the sight of blood would be, reporter Nick Mayo took part in a donor session and learned more about the process.

With a grandfather who was a butcher and used to dealing with lots of blood and a father who is rather squeamish around it - he has been known to faint - I was interested to see how I would react to giving blood for the first time.

When it came to doing it on Thursday the helpful donor team at Cox Green Community Centre in Highfield Lane, Cox Green, talked me through the whole process and made it straightforward and painless.

I was surprised to see such a variety of people, of all ages, some waiting to give blood, about five on beds already giving blood and more relaxing with a drink after the session.

The hall was a hive of activity with plenty of staff buzzing around to check on you and explaining the process.

After producing my donation of 470ml of blood, just under a pint, I was left thinking what happens next? What is the journey of the blood from leaving my arm to helping someone?

Starting at the beginning, it really is an easy process to sign up to give blood. All you have to do is call up and register as a donor then book an appointment at a centre near you. It really is as simple as that.

You will have to fill in a donor health check regarding lifestyle, medical treatment and where you have travelled lately, all of which can effect whether you can donate or not.

This will be assessed by a donor carer and they will also take a drop of blood from your finger to test the iron level.

Donor carer Louise Spragg, who did my assessment, said: “It’s a very rewarding job working full time as a donor carer. We are based in Langley, Slough, and travel all around the area. The team is really close and it is very satisfying to think how many people the blood donated helps.”

All things being OK after the assessment, you will soon be up on a bed to give your precious pint – a careful prick of the needle on a vein in your arm and then it takes five to ten minutes to produce your bag of blood.

Martin Forster, from Slough, who took my blood, was talkative and reassuring throughout. “I worked in Woolworths for many years and then saw jobs as a donor carer listed, I thought I would just be making the tea or something but I have now taken blood from hundreds of people in the last few years,” he said.

Next step for me was drinks and chocolate bars at the refreshments table to make sure I was ready to carry on with the rest of my day.

The 100 or so pints of blood donated at an average session are then stored carefully before being collected and transported to Colindale Blood Centre.

At Colindale rigorous processing and testing takes place before blood is issued to hospitals. Firstly the blood is filtered to remove the white cells, these are removed as it reduces the risk of certain infections and avoids side effects in patients.

The bag is then put into a centrifuge, this spins the blood bag in a similar way to a washing machine, separating the blood into its three component parts of red cells, platelets and plasma.

“The red cells can go on to help patients with severe anaemia, the platelets can help cancer and leukaemia patients with bruises and bleeding and the plasma can help burns patients,” said Rebecca Khan, communications officer for NHS Blood and Transplant. “Therefore, one donation could help up to three people.”

Your red blood cells could be used by someone who has lost blood after an accident, the platelets by somebody whose bone marrow is not working properly because they are being treated for leukaemia and your plasma to help someone suffering from liver disease to assist their blood clotting.

In most cases your blood will help local people unless there are shortages elsewhere of particular blood types.

Samples of your blood are taken during the giving process which are tested for bacteria such as syphilis and viruses including HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human Tcell lymphotropic virus which can cause leukaemia.

Once the test results are back, donations are passed to the issues department and once validated for use, the blood goes straight to the fridges to be stored until the hospitals need it. The blood is then issued to the 310 hospitals in England and north Wales that the National Blood Service (NBS) supplies.

Red cells can be kept for 35 days between two to six degrees centigrade. Platelets are kept at 22 degrees and only last for five days so have to be put through the process as quickly as possible. It takes four sets of donor platelets to make up one unit needed by an adult.

Plasma can be kept for 12 months frozen at minus 30 degrees. With only four per cent of the eligible population giving blood, there is always a need for new donors, although thanks to some loyal donors, blood stocks remain healthy.

To give blood you should be aged between 17 and 59, weigh more than 7st 12lb (50kg) and be in good general health.

The NBS collects more than two million units of blood a year from around 1.3 million blood donors. It needs to collect 7,000 donations of blood every single day. Without donated blood hospitals simply would not have the blood products needed to treat patients.

“It is vital that people who are eligible to give blood support their local blood donor sessions,” said Mrs Khan. “Each donation is a potential lifeline for a patient in need of blood so it is important for people to come forward and donate regularly.”

• For more details or to book an appointment in advance contact 08457 711711 or visit www.blood.co.uk