Highland blood donation: ‘another of the recorded epics of the war’

Today we take it for granted that giving blood is as easy as looking online and booking an appointment - and it pretty well is.

However blood transfusion as we know it has been around for less than 100 years, and it’s history in the Highlands, Scotland and the wider world is pretty fascinating.

It was back in 1901 that biologist Karl Landsteiner classified the bloods of human beings into the now well-known A, B, AB, and O groups, determining which blood types can successfully be transfused to each other.

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From here the first successful blood transfusion as carried out in 1907, becoming increasingly popular during World War I as a means to treat the wounded - with blood being provided by lightly wounded men to help the more seriously injured. Donors received a fortnight’s leave as reward, so needless to say there was no shortage of volunteers!

Between the wars blood was increasingly used in emergencies and medical practice, mostly to treat haemorrhage in childbirth, or injury from disease, though blood and plasma were also used in the treatment of shock from burning or other accidents.

It was another war that brought further innovation in 1937 when the practice of storing blood in blood banks was instituted in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War.

Closer to home, between 1936 and 1939, the Royal Northern Infirmary in Inverness had a small list of donors who were called on to give blood in case of emergency, with the first blood banks introduced in the UK in the year that World War II began.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Association (which later became today’s Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service) was formally established in 1940, comprising a council of city lord provosts, surgeons, doctors, members of the Red Cross, the Women's Voluntary Service, and members of the Department of Health for Scotland.

Five regional transfusion services were set up including a Northern service based in Inverness alongside local blood banks set up in, among other areas, Wick, Dingwall and Golspie.

Using local hospitals’ lists of volunteers as a basis, the service built up its panel of donors across the Highland mainland, geography and a scattered population creating an immense amount of work on the voluntary collection team.

Surgeon Mr AJC Hamilton said at the time: "The journeying of the blood transfusion team during the war to collect blood from places as far apart as Kinlochleven, Wick and Thurso on stormy winter nights with car headlights masked was but another of the recorded epics of the war."

With World War II seeing many blood donors away on active service and others at home finding it harder to donate due to other war service commitments, the association increased its mobile collection teams and publicity drives - and the number of blood donors rose from 43,000 to 57,000.

In 1944 another 10,000 donors sign up in the wake of D-Day as many donations were parachuted into underground armies operating in occupied territories.

In 1951 Inverness’s first purpose built blood transfusion premises was built at the Royal Northern Infirmary, on the River Ness.

The information in this timeline is taken from "The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Association 1940-1965" by WN Boog Watson (1965).

Every time you give blood or plasma, you become part of a long history of Highland Lifesavers. Why not make an appointment today?

Highland News and Media wants to bring 5000 people from the Highlands and Moray in to give blood between now and Easter. Join our campaign to give blood and save lives.

Book an appointment to give blood at www.scotblood.co.uk, or call 0345 90 90 999 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm).

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