“Jo McAuliffe has a rare blood disorder known as TTP. During five years of treatment, she has received around 1,000 units of plasma and many units of red blood cells. These transfusions have saved her life. ‘I feel so lucky to be here,’ Jo says. ‘I’m able to enjoy and appreciate my favourite things again, thanks to the dedication of blood donors.’”
This amazing story comes from the National Blood Service website. Indeed, there are numerous stories about how blood donors help save lives. Giving blood is a moral obligation which is highly respectable. But according to Ms. Charmaine, Iles, the blood donor recruiter of Welsh Blood Service, at this moment only six percent to the population donate blood. Compared with the demand that 600 donations are needed to keep the hospitals in Wales afloat every single day, it obviously can not meet the requirement, especially during this busy Christmas period.
Based on the statistics of previous five years, blood stocks will probably run low during this time of the year. Current blood stocks in the National Blood Service are totally 38,000 units (not including the hospital blood banks), which may only supply a big hospital for month and a half. The main reason behind this is traffic accidents. People are busy and rushing around Christmas, careless driving leads to more accidents than at any other time of the year. Sports activities, and even kitchen accidents, can put people at risk of serious injury. “It is amazing that all these sorts of accidents can happen around the Christmas period just because more people are around,” Charmaine noted.
Campaigns are made to bring awareness and to encourage people to donate. But it seems that there are never enough people being involved. “Often people think that somebody else will do it,” Charmaine commented, “or they are too busy to find the time to manage it.” Actually, it just takes 40 minutes to give blood and the process is very simple. Good care is taken of donors during the process. In addition, their personal details are stored securely on the Welsh Blood Service computerized donor database, which are kept under the Data Protection Act (1998). Furthermore, donations are guaranteed to be used for the benefit of patients, never for profit. Some people argue that giving blood will do harm to their health. “It is not true,” Charmaine smiled, “If you give blood too often it will harm you, but only after four months can a regular donor come back to give blood again.” For most people, giving blood is a simple and trouble-free experience. “Most people are healthy enough to donate as long as you are aged between 17 and 60,” Paul McElkerney, spokesman of the Blood Transfusion Service said.
We all dream about making our world to become a better place so it is up to us all to contribute. Tom Payne, a 19-year-old regular donor considered: It is “such a good idea to help someone even without doing that much.” He encouraged his family and friends to donate. For him, moving stories are not only on TV, “I can do it myself.” And that applies to all of us.
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