Please Give Blood
Letter from the Nation Blood Service
Why I cannot...
During my stay initial stay in hospital I was given 14 pints of blood, nearly twice what I started with and I wrote to The Cambridge Evening News, The Walden Local and the Daily Mail when there was a campaign by several celebrities a couple of months after my accident so I would implore you to give blood and help save lives.
Did you know: -
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1.•In one day, your blood travels nearly 12,000 miles.
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2.•Your heart beats around 35 million times per year.
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3.•Your heart pumps a million barrels of blood during the average lifetime - enough to fill three supertankers
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4.•Only 4%of eligible people in the UK give blood
Unfortunately I now cannot give blood and this is the reason copied from the National Blood Transfusion "Facebook" Page"
Why are people who have or think they may have received a blood transfusion since 1980 no longer able to give blood?
This step was implemented by all four of the UK Blood Services on 2nd August 2004. It is a further precautionary measure against the possible risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) being transmitted by blood and blood products. vCJD is thought to be the consequence of eating contaminated beef, related to BSE (or mad cow disease) in UK cattle after 1980. Fortunately, vCJD is very rare. But, there is evidence that vCJD may be transmitted from an infected blood donor to the patient, via transfusion.
Don’t make an excuse for not giving blood...
Whenever there is a campaign on Facebook about Blood Donations I always repeat this very simple message and hopefully it will inspire people to donate
”You may have seen this post before but I do try to post it every time there is a request to donate blood - in the hope this would spur people on to take that very first but exceptionally important step
Because’ is often an excuse, a reason not to do something. ‘Because I’m busy’ or ‘because it’s too far’,
I did give blood and although I am very proud of my Bronze badge -10 pints - I look back now and of course I could have given more - sometimes when the letter came through I had more “important” things to do - BECAUSE I “needed” to see a particular programme or quite simply BECAUSE I could always do it next time - but of course this never happened - in 2004 I had an horrific accident and required 14 pints of blood - so I got my donation back with interest but it is conceivable that some of your blood was given to me - speaking very literally of course - and without people like yourselves I would not be here now - so thank you all for saving mine, and of course, many other’s lives
So thank you one and all”
Bronze Badge - recognition for 10 pints
I was invited to a ceremony for people who had donated - 100 pints of blood or 75 donations of Plasma
This was an event held at the Newmarket Race Course on the 22nd of February 2019 - with probably about a 100 guests - I told them my story and it is conceivable that some of the people there quite possibly gave me their blood
All of the Donors appreciated my presentation- along with another chap as well who spoke
Several found it very interesting to actually talk to a recipient - so had conversations with them
A pamphlet handed out - there’s me - middle right
Sheila and I
