80-year-old at Elgin blood donor session insists ‘it’s worth it’
Two people who have each given blood more than a hundred times were amongst the donors who gave again in Elgin.
The NHS’s call for folk brought a sizeable group of donors to the Moray Leisure Centre recently.
Amongst their number was Callum Sword, a computer programmer from Elgin.
The 62-year-old first gave blood while a university student in Glasgow and has been a regular ever since, donating a total of 128 times over the years.
Callum said: “It doesn’t hurt and only takes half an hour of your time every few months. It’s just an easy way to give something back.”
Husband and wife give blood together
‘Giving blood was totally easy and painless’
Each time someone donates blood they are effectively providing three separate medical gifts. As well as their red blood cells, the person is also donating their plasma and their platelets.
Plasma carries nutrients, hormones, and proteins around the body. Platelets, meanwhile, help stop bleeding by forming clots.
These three different components all have different shelf lives.
While plasma can still be given to another patient three years after was donated, the time frame drops dramatically to 35 days for red blood cells, and just seven days for platelets.
Upcoming donor sessions:
February 11: Tain - The Duthac Centre 2-4pm and 5.30-7.30pm
February 12: Aviemore - Aveimore Primary School 5.20-8pm
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February 18: Invergordon - Leisure Centre 3-4.30pm and 6-7.30pm
February 19: Ullapool - Lochbroom Leisure Centre 2.30-4pm and 5.30-7pm
February 24: Drumnadrochit - Glen Urquhart High School 5.30-8pm
February 25: Nairn - Community and Arts Centre 1-3.30pm and 5-7.30pm
All this means that there is a constant need for fresh supplies to be donated by the public.
Joyce Duncan, who’s aged 80, has donated a total of 112 times since she began in her late teens. In addition, she’s recently recruited her granddaughter Chloe Nicol to the ranks.
Joyce said: “It seemed like a good idea when I first started, and it still seems like one now. It’s worth it.
“And you never know when you might need a blood transfusion yourself.”
As regards the different types of blood, easily the two most common varieties within the UK are O+ (35 per cent) and A+ (30 per cent), followed a long way behind in third by O- (13 per cent).
These ratios more or less match the global picture.
However, it’s a very different story in certain specific communities.
For example, the Bororo people who live in the Brazilian Amazon all possess O+ blood.
By comparison, though, that figure drops to just 9% for the inhabitants of the remote Andaman Islands off the east coast of India.
The donations team will be back in Elgin on March 12 and 23.
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.
Appointments are available weekly at Inverness Donor Centre within Raigmore Hospital in addition to the dates above.
Book an appointment to give blood at www.scotblood.co.uk, or call 0345 90 90 999 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm).
