Every donation of blood can save three lives.
That’s a powerful statistic.
It’s why The Courier is launching the Be Our Blood campaign alongside The Scottish Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) to encourage more people in our area to register.
At least 500 names are needed.
Below, Dr Sylvia Armstrong-Fisher, head of donor services for Dundee, covering Tayside, Fife and Stirlingshire, explains the importance of blood donation in our community.
Blood has the power to help
The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) are delighted to be working with The Courier to encourage more people in Tayside, Fife and Stirling to give blood.
Blood has the power to help so many people in so many ways.
Every time you give blood you can help to save or improve the lives of three patients in Scotland.
Many people know about the need for blood and blood donors, but as less than 3% of the eligible Scottish population give blood, we’d like to encourage more people to get involved.
During the next year the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) Dundee team needs to welcome 18,587 donors, this equates to 357 donors per week.
Our Dundee team collect blood five days a week across the north east of Scotland.
The team currently visit Aberfeldy, Arbroath, Brechin, Crieff, Carnoustie, Dunblane, Forfar, Kirriemuir, Montrose, Perth, St Monans, Strathmiglo, St Andrews and Wellbank two or three time a year, while our Donor Centre is currently open three days a week.
We need more blood donors
We currently have 9,693 active donors, but we need more.
During this coming year, we would like to encourage another 500 people to commit and sign up to give blood in this area.
You must leave a minimum of 12 weeks between each blood donation this means that each person can give up to three times per year.
We need people like you to come forward and help support Scotland’s patients.
Hospitals use 37% of the blood we supply to treat patients with cancer and blood diseases, 27% is used in surgical procedures, 2% is used to treat, mothers, babies and young children and 10% is used to treat critically ill patients.
Blood has a shelf life of 35 days, and only seven days for platelet products so must be constantly replenished.
We aim to retain a healthy six day stock of the eight major blood groups at any time.
Help us show patients in Scotland that they are not fighting alone.
To register as a blood donor or to find out where your nearest donation session is visit www.scotblood.co.uk or call 0345 90 90 999.
You can also contact us by emailing nss.snbtsenquiry@nhs.scot
The Courier is proud to launch the Be Our Blood campaign with SNBTS.
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