By Liz Fowler

A COUPLE grateful to the blood donors who helped save the life of their baby daughter yesterday issued a heartfelt appeal for a large turnout when the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service rolls into Montrose at the beginning of next week.

Paraic and Marie Faherty’s daughter Orla was born 10 weeks’ prematurely. Her stomach was not properly connected to her intestines and, weighing just over 3lb, she required extensive surgery and only survived thanks to four blood transfusions.

“It was then I really started thinking about how basic a requirement blood is,” said Paraic, who runs the B-Lo restaurant in the town.

“You are looking at this tiny little thing in an incubator feeling so helpless. Orla probably only required teaspoonfuls of blood at a time but nevertheless it was absolutely essential.

“She is starting to run around and talk now and I want to do something in return for the life of our daughter.

“Giving blood is such a basic thing to do but only 6% of the population are doing it—a tiny proportion which has really been rammed home to us.”

The blood transfusion service has announced that some 10,000 fewer people came forward to give blood in 2007 compared to the year before.

The figure represents a 15% fall that has prompted the service—which provides transfusions for more than 100,000 patients annually—to call on donors to commit to giving blood three times a year.

Backing that campaign, Paraic has offered to provide free coffee to donors as extra incentive and is calling on more businesses in the town to offer discounts and special offers.

He said, “I am disappointed our scheme hasn’t been followed by others.

“It’s something that we need to get to the forefront of people’s minds.

“A lot of people are not giving blood because it simply doesn’t feature as a priority.

“But if someone has a supermarket loyalty card they use it all the time.

“If you had a similar thing for blood donors, I think it would encourage more people to go along when the collection service comes calling.

“It’s left to people’s goodwill, but that doesn’t seem to be working.

“I know in the UK individuals generally don’t like to be applauded for good deeds. One woman told me she had been giving blood for 40 years and didn’t need any reward.

“But that doesn’t apply to everybody. Some people need encouragement.”

He started offering free coffee to blood donors in June 2006, shortly after Orla was born.

“Many people don’t realise the importance of blood transfusions until they themselves experience the need of them.

“Montrose has an opportunity to be the first town to take a stand and set an example.

“Blood donors have their cards stamped and we could have an appreciable blood donor reward scheme with special discounts from taxi firms, curry houses, restaurants, even clothing stores and hairdressers.

“Giving blood needs to become the natural thing to do.

“But before that is ever going to happen, we need to build up a certain momentum to get to the top of the hill and overcome whatever the reason is for resistance.

“A lot of people can’t give blood for various reasons but most people can and if there’s another solution towards making it a routine occurrence than I would like to hear it. Blood transfusions save lives—it’s that simple.”

The service will be at Montrose Town Hall on Monday and Tuesday from 2.30-8pm both days.