The Donor

OFF TOAFLYINGSTARTWITHSIR RICHARDWe launch our ‘A lot to say thank you for...’ campaign

OFF TOAFLYINGSTARTWITHSIR RICHARDWe launch our ‘A lot to say thank you for...’ campaign

NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL BLOOD SERVICE SUMMER 2003 • FREE

Secrets in the bloodfor the House family

The DonorJOIN

THE BONE

MARROW REGISTER AT

www.blood.co.uk

Beating cancerJack’s story plus the quest for new bone marrow donors

Life-saverWhy O type blood is so vital for A&E

Beating cancerJack’s story plus the quest for new bone marrow donors

Life-saverWhy O type blood is so vital for A&E

As well as thanking regular donors for their continued support, ‘A lot to say thank you for...’ highlights the unceasing need for bloodand bone marrow donors. Only 6% of the eligible population currently give blood and the NBS needs up to 9,000 units of blooddaily to save lives. The campaign stresses that blood and bone marrow are used not just to treat those who have been in accidents,but are also essential for the treatment of many diseases and cancerssuch as leukaemia. The campaign will run until spring 2004.

Getting the message across

NEWS FEATURE

You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 4652 THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 Find out where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

WELCOME & CONTENTS

GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?We welcome your personal stories, questions and comments.Write to Penny Richardson, Editor, The Donor, NationalBlood Service, West Derby Street, Liverpool, L7 8TW.

Or contact us via our website, www.blood.co.uk where youcan also find out more about the National Blood Service.

The cost of producing, printing and posting each copy ofthis magazine is less than the price of a first class stamp.The Donor is published by the National Blood Service. Reproduction inwhole or part is strictly forbidden without the prior permission of theNational Blood Service. NBS Project Liaison Caroline Osborne. Editorial consultancy, writing, subbing, art direction, design and production Keith Hodgson and Hilary Joseph at Ant Creative (London). Reproduction – LDPG (London). Printed in the UK by Apple Web Offset plcon paper from sustainable forests.

3 NEWS FEATURE & NEWSLatest news and stories from around the country

6 WANTED: SOMEONE SPECIALWe’re looking for nominations for our new Special Awards

7 “A PINT! THAT’S NEARLY AN ARMFUL!”Tony Hancock’s blood donor sketch made everyone laugh –and launched the myth of the pint of blood. We look at othergreat donation myths

8 THE BONE MARROW CAMPAIGNBone marrow donors really do save lives. We talk to twofamilies about their experiences

10 A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATHAccident and Emergency (A&E) consultant Conor Kelly explains why O type blood is such a life-saver

11 WINNING THE FIGHTJack Beddard Coll needed many donations of platelets andblood in his battle against leukaemia, but now he’s fighting fit

12 OVER TO YOUCatch up with readers’ letters plus health Q&As

13 ADMIRING DONOR COMMITMENTA day in the life of staff nurse Jenny Diaferia

14 SECRETS IN THE BLOODWe’ve got more answers to your questions about how we inheritour blood groups

15 THE INFORMATION CENTREWhere to contact us with your donor queries, plus a Billy BloodDrop puzzle for the children

16 “I KNEW IT COULD BE ME ONE DAY”How donated blood saved the life of motorcyclist Allan Deuchar

In this summer issue

Bone Marrow campaign pages 8/9 Secrets in the blood page 14

The National Blood Service is run by The National Blood Authoritywhich is a Special Health Authority within the National Health Service. NHS

baby Louis arrived safely last June.

Keen championSir Richard is one of many celebritieswho are happy to give their time forfree to help the NBS. He has specialreasons for supporting the service.

In 1999, Sir Richard’s fatherneeded a blood transfusion duringa hip replacement operation. Sincethen the businessman has been akeen champion of the NBS,appearing in our televisioncommercials and constantlyencouraging new donors to comeforward.

After Covent Garden, Sir Richardgave a series of local radiointerviews to make sure that blooddonors up and down the countrywere thanked for their support.

Off to a flying start

THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 3

We thought we’d launch our new ‘Thank you’campaign with a bang, so who better to get usoff the ground than Sir Richard Branson?

We are looking for nominationsfor our new Special Awards,which will recognise extraordi-nary efforts made by an individual or group in support ofthe NBS and our work.

Either call our Donor Helplineon 0845 7 711 711, or email us atspecial.awards@nbs.nhs.uk andask for an application form. Turn to page 6 for some inspiring examples of ordinarypeople who help the NBS inextraordinary ways.

Who needs aspecial thank you?

Launching a national campaign to thank ourthousands of donors, staff

and supporters required somethinga bit special, so we decided to goto the heart of London and inviteSir Richard Branson to start the ballrolling on March 11.

Donors, NBS staff and some veryspecial recipients met Sir Richard atCovent Garden, where thebusinessman wasted no time inlaunching the ‘A lot to say thankyou for...’ campaign by leaping outfrom a giant ‘thank you’ cardclutching a bunch of flowers!

Earlier in the day, Sir Richard andNBS director Liz Reynolds, had

shared a sofa at the BBC Breakfaststudios for a live television slot.

The main eventThey then zoomed to the action atCovent Garden where Sir Richardmet two young blood recipients,Jake Harvey and baby LouisMaclaren. With them were NBSchairman, Mike Fogden, andprofessional swimmer, AdrianTurner. Adrian almost died after aninfection caused his body to rejecthis own blood.

After life-saving treatment,Adrian went on to gain two medalsfor the England swimming squad atthe Commonwealth Games.

Preparing for the summer holidays is great fun – thinkingof where to go and what topack. If you are going abroadthis summer you may find thenews on summer travel ruleson page 5 interesting. Here at the NBS we’re prepar-

ing for your holidays too. We know just how busythe summer months can be for donors, making ithard to fit in your regular session. So please, if youcan, make time to give before you go.

I have been really inspired by the stories covered in this edition and I hope you will be too.Your letters flooded in following last issue’s article Secrets in the Blood – so much so that we’ve included a follow-up on page 14.

I hope you will be interested in the TonyHancock article on page 7 – perhaps the mostfamous blood donor of all – and motivated by thestory of the Maddocks family on pages 8 and 9,whose support of the NBS has helped make theBritish Bone Marrow Register (BBMR) one of thelargest in the world.

The update on the campaign ‘A lot to say thankyou for…’ on page 3, launched in March by SirRichard Branson, reflects the dedication and support the NBS receives from the celebrity world.You may have noticed that famous people oftenappear in our adverts and campaigns. Every one ofthem has given their time freely to help promoteour work. You can also see how we’ve been sayingthank you to donors around the country. If youknow someone who should be nominated for aSpecial Award, there are more details on page 6.

And finally, thank you for all your letters – keepthem coming in.

PENNY RICHARDSON – Editor

Jake Harvey was born with acondition known as pulmonaryartefia. He needed five major heartoperations, the first when he wasless than 24 hours old. During allthis surgery, Jake relied heavily ondonated blood. Jake’s dad, is now aregular blood donor.

Miracle babyBaby Louis Maclaren really is amiracle. His parents Amanda and Leehad nearly given up hope of a healthybaby when they lost their ninth childat a very late stage of pregnancy.

Doctors suspected some kind ofimmune response problem, andtests showed Amanda’s immunesystem was attacking the foreignantigens (proteins) present in herbaby’s blood.

Guess who? Sir Richard pops outfrom behind a giant ‘Thank you’card with Jake Harvey at thelaunch of the campaign

Sir Richard with baby Louis at the start of the campaign in London

The condition is known asNeonatal Allo-Immune Thrombo-cytopenia. Amanda and Lee's onlyhope was for any future baby toundergo a complex and risky seriesof platelet transfusions whilst still inthe womb. Amanda becamepregnant for the tenth time, andthis time, thanks to 13 transfusions,

THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 5

NEWS

Don’t forget the Helpline number 0845 7 711 7114 THE DONOR SUMMER 2003

NEWS

You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465

No one likes having abruise after they’ve given

blood. In a bid to cut downon the problem we took afresh look at how we care foryou immediately after you’vemade your donation.

We found that the bestway of preventing a bruise isto apply pressure to the place

New travelrulesBeing unable to donate

can be disappointing andworrying. It can happen formany reasons, overseas travelis just one. This summer youmay be asked to postponedonating simply because ofthe holiday destination thatyou visited. (A good reason togive before you go!)

As usual you’ll be askedabout travel to malarial riskareas and, also about travel toareas where SARS is endemic.Now, this summer from June30 until November 30, you’llbe asked about travel to theUSA and Canada because ofWest Nile Virus (WNV).

WNV is transmitted tohumans through mosquitobites. Normally an infectedperson will show no signs of ill-ness or just have mild flu-likesymptoms. However, the viruscan lead to more serious con-ditions if their blood is given toa patient needing transfusions.

The WNV restrictions havebeen introduced as a precau-tionary measure followinglast year’s outbreak in theUSA. Although the risk ofwidespread infection is low, aspecific screening test forWNV is not feasible. So post-poning donations is the most

Whilst donating bloodMark Smith, ‘Rhino’

from Gladiators, made thedecision to register on thebone marrow register.

Rhino was first alerted tothe British Bone MarrowRegister (BBMR) after meetingbrave Keiran Rodriguez, fromChatham, who battled withleukaemia for three years.

Rhino says “Meeting Keiranand his mum Mel, learningmore about diseases such asleukaemia brought home tome the importance of donat-ing blood and bone marrow. IfI can help someone by givingblood and going on the regis-ter then that is great.“

Throughout Kieran’s illness,they have received great sup-port and encouragementfrom Rhino. He has joined Melon other fundraising events

At work, they spend theirtime helping to save lives,

and at play, it seems it’s nodifferent for members ofSouth Yorkshire’s blood donorteam who recently took partin a local Race for Life in aid ofCancer Research UK.

Around a dozen membersof the NBS’s Sheffield basedcollection team joined almost5,000 other women for the 10km race – the seventhtime that the Race for Life, Cancer UK’s biggestfundraising event of the year, has visited Sheffield.

It was a simple blood testat a donor session which

alerted Lee Barton, aged 42from West Hampstead, tothe fact he was sufferingfrom a serious illness. Helater needed over 20 unitsof life-saving blood.

His ‘finger prick’ testshowed low iron levels andhe was unable to donate.Despite changing his diet,when he returned todonate 16 weeks later, hisreading had dropped evenfurther and he was advisedby NBS staff to see a doctor.

Unfortunately Lee’s illnesswas already very advancedand before he was able toseek medical attention hebegan haemorrhaging andwas rushed into the RoyalFree Hospital where hereceived 11 units of blood.

Lee continued to haem-orrhage over a two weekperiod and was only sus-tained by the large quanti-ties of donated blood beingtransfused into him. He alsoreceived five special doses

Regular session test warns Leeof platelets, the clotting fac-tor in the blood.

Lee underwent tests andwas finally diagnosed withulcerative colitis, a serious dis-ease of the colon.

Lee, pictured below withhis wife, is now in remissionand enjoying getting back toplaying guitar. He says “My

wife and I are both blooddonors and you alwaysthink of donating yourblood to someone else. Inever imagined I would beon the receiving end. Whenyou see all the blood beingpumped into patients itreally reinforces how impor-tant giving blood is.”

Rhino the Gladiatorshows his real strength

and has helped motivateKeiran to stay strong.

But Rhino’s recent step toactually register on the BBMRhas received praise from Mel.“I am so proud of Rhino fordoing this. It is really important

that people are made moreaware about joining the BBMRand I hope that seeing some-one like Rhino doing it willencourage others to come forward,” she says.

Balloons for Birmingham in regional launches

Regional launches for the ‘A lot to saythank you for...’ campaign have been

taking place around the country with donors,staff, volunteers, recipients and supporters allgetting involved in our campaign.

There have been lots of celebration cakes,balloons, flowers, cards and even a jazz band!More events are planned throughout the year.

Blood, sweat but no tears

A chance to say ‘thank you’Megan Turner, from

Newport on the Isle ofWight, had a rocky start inlife. Born 16 weeks prema-ture at St Mary’s Hospital inNewport, she weighed just1lb 6oz and for weeks hertiny life hung in the balance.

She was so premature thather bone marrow had not yetstarted to produce the plateletsthat help blood to clot, so ifMegan had injured herself she would have bled to death.

But today, thanks to blooddonors, she is a lively fiveyear-old who loves sport andballet and will soon finish herfirst year at primary school.

At a donor awards cere-mony Megan, pictured above

effective way of ensuringcontinued blood safety.

Postponement periods varyand staff at session or on theHelpline on 0845 7 711 711will be able to give you more

specific advice. For guidance,visitors returning from SARSaffected areas will be asked towait for 14 days, whilst theperiod for areas affected byWest Nile Virus is 28 days.

The NBS recently saidgoodbye to retiring local

volunteers who have eachmade valuable contributionsto the service in their roles.

Marion Darby was present-ed with a certificate and crys-tal decanter to mark herretirement as a local organis-er and volunteer in Sutton.

Her duties will be taken upby Sutton blood donor TimClarke, who has given over300 donations of blood(whole blood and apheresis)and decided to become alocal organiser after he readan NBS booklet on the needfor volunteers.

In Downham Market, localorganiser and tea help JanetHunt retired from her duties

Well dressed donors!So, we will now standard-

ise our dressings. Next timeyou give blood, you’ll get thevery best dressing for the job– a simple plaster. And ifyou’re allergic to normal plas-ters, we’ll supply you with ahypoallergenic one.

Alex and Samantha Bakerrecently made it a double

celebration when they gaveblood on 1 May 2003.

They were celebrating theirfourth wedding anniversaryand the session was beingheld in the same venue as theirreception, in the Athenaeum,Bury St Edmunds.

Special gift for anniversary

Goodbye and thank you

When Commonwealth medallistAdrian Turner agreed to help the

NorthWest launch of the ‘A lot to say thankyou for’ campaign he didn’t know hewould end up with a special date.

Adrian, who had lifesaving blood trans-fusions at the start of 2000, met BethMorris, who’d also received many bloodand platelet transfusions as well as a bone

It was Valentine’s Day with atwist in the Trent region,

when a trio of aptly-nameddonors decided to give theirown special Valentine’s gift,by donating blood.

Dave, Beverley and MartinValentine all dropped into theirdonor sessions in February togive their unique gift, and helpto save someone’s life.

Dave made a Valentine’sDay visit to the session in

Making a championship splash!

A special Valentine’s gift

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where the needle was. Thepressure should continueuntil any signs of bleedinghave completely stopped.

We also looked at the besttype of dressing to put onyour arm. In some areas,donors are given a bandageand a lint cloth – unnecessaryif there’s no blood!

In central Birmingham bone marrow trans-plant recipient Samantha Stubbs, helped byher family, released 200 balloons beforemarching back to the Blood Donor Centrebehind a jazz band (pictured above). They andthe donors enjoyed a cake and heart-shapedbiscuits specially baked for the occasion bystudents from a local college.

Alex Baker is a regularblood donor but Samanthawas making only her seconddonation. Her first was 13years ago.

However, Alex maintainsthat he won’t allowSamantha to leave it foranother 13 years before hernext blood donation!

in April, and was presentedwith a certificate and crystalgoblet by NBS staff. Alsoretiring were tea helps Pamand Ted Bell, and sessionhelper Jean Stray. They werepresented with special certifi-cates.

Staff and friends in NorthSomerset bid farewell to retir-ing assistant organiserBarbara Hillier from Shipham,North Somerset, after 17years’ voluntary service in avariety of roles for the NBS.

Barbara was presentedwith flowers, chocolates, a card and a commemorativecertificate at a surprise partyat a North Somerset session,laid on by the Bristol Southcollection team.

Doncaster, South Yorkshire,where he gave his 42nd blooddonation, while Beverleydropped into her local sessionin Scunthorpe. Martin madehis at Loughborough.

All three were given anextra special Valentine’s wel-come by the collection teams,who in the true spirit of theday were also on hand to pre-sent the donors with flowersand chocolates!

marrow transplant. Beth is busy making upfor lost time, doing things that were impos-sible before her transplant.

Because of the risk of infection she had-n’t been able to go to the swimming baths.Now she can and Adrian invited her for avery special lesson. How many people arelucky enough to be taught how to swim bya Commonwealth swimming champion?

with her parents, Steve (aregular blood donor himself)and Ann, thanked 16 of theisland’s dedicated donors.Ann Turner re-lived the firstfew urgent hours of herdaughter’s life, saying, “Shewas so tiny and delicate. Wejust wanted her to live and ifI could have given her myblood I would have.”

She added, “It’s wonderfulto come here and be able tothank the blood donors whohelped to save Megan’s life.And to thank them not just on our behalf but onbehalf of the many other par-ents of premature babieswho have been through similar experiences.”

The group (seven of thempictured below) – who havenamed themselves ‘TheBluebells’ – raised around£500 for the charity. Theydecided to take part in therace after hearing how an NBScolleague’s daughter is herselfbeing treated for cancer.

Sarah Bradbury, the donorcarer who helped organisethe NBS team, said, “Workingon session we spend a lot oftime on our feet running backand forth, so just our normalworking day has been reallygood training for the race!”

THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 7Don’t forget the Helpline number 0845 7 711 7116 THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465

BLOOD MYTHSSPECIAL AWARDS

challenges. New donors joining intheir 40s and 50s can be among themost dedicated donors we have. Soplease remind your friends thatsaving lives can begin at 40!

We could go on about the mythsof blood donation – the needle size,whether it hurts, fainting and soon. The list is as long as your arm.Also, with over 450 rules governingthe donor selection process, thingschange all the time. Which couldbe how new myths begin ofcourse! But the rules are there forvery good reasons – and onlychange for very good reasons.

That’s why it’s so important thateach time you come to give bloodyou treat it like the first, as eitheryour health or our rules could havechanged since your last donation.

Tony Hancock’s blood donor sketch may benearly 50 years old but it can still raise a laugh.Of course, Tony was wrong about that pint…

A ctually, we’ve nevertaken a pint of bloodfrom anyone. That myth

goes right back to the famousHancock sketch, ‘The BloodDonor’. Hancock’s immortal wordsseem imprinted on the British col-lective memory. "A pint! Whythat’s very nearly an arm full!"protests the comedian when hedecides to "give so that othersmay live."

So it’s not surprising that so manypeople still think donors give a pintof blood. You don’t. A pint is

actually 568ml, but an averagedonation is 470ml. We call it a unit.We used to collect blood in glassbottles that looked rather like milkbottles, which we’re sure has alsohelped to perpetuate the pint ofblood myth.

There are plenty of other mythsout there too. Over the years, asscience and medical understandinghave progressed, our rules aboutwho can and can’t give blood havechanged many times. But often ittakes longer for the message to getout to donors, the public and thewider health care community.

The truth about jaundiceTake jaundice. Many people weretold that because they’d hadjaundice as a baby, they couldn’tgive blood. Years ago that wascorrect, but, since the introductionof the test for hepatitis, nowgenerally anyone who has hadjaundice as a baby can donate. Yet,time and time again members ofthe public are surprised when wetell them it will be OK to give blood.

Then there is drinking. Oftenpeople tell us ‘You won’t want myblood, I drink too much.’ However,drinking alcohol in moderationbefore giving blood is no problem.But if you are drunk or very hungover you should not donate as you

are not well enough at that time.And there is no reason not to drinkalcohol after giving blood, but it isbest to make sure the first drinksyou have are non-alcoholic ones.

How about smoking? Manypeople believe they can’t giveblood because they smoke. Thishas never been the case – in fact inthe very early days of blooddonation, cigarette rations wereactually handed out after givingblood. Of course, we stopped thatparticular practice years ago!

Our recent advice was not tosmoke for two hours after donating;

we now think that’s being over-cautious so we’re withdrawing it.

Giving life can begin at 40There is some misunderstandingabout age too. Since 1998 we havebeen promoting the new agecriteria, 17 to 60 for new donors,and up to 70 for regular donors (ifyou are aged between 60 and 70and have given blood in the last fiveyears you may continue giving).

People in their 40s and 50s canthink it’s too late to start giving.Changing this impression is provingone of our most difficult

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WANTED: somebody specialPhil Royle from Mickleover

in Derbyshire, (picturedbelow), teaches at the Royal

School for the Deaf in Derby. Hebecame a blood donor 12 yearsago, after seeing how blood trans-fusions had helped to save the lifeof a friend.

Last year Phil turned 50. Hedecided to celebrate this landmarkin an unusual way. He set himself a

challenge, the ‘Right RoyleChallenge’, running 50 miles inroad races during the year.However, instead of collectingsponsorship money, he decided toask people to become blood donors– and set himself a target ofrecruiting 50 new donors.

Thanks to pledges from family,

friends and work colleagues, Philhas met his half-century target andadded a few extra donors for goodmeasure. Phil said, “I’ve reallyenjoyed doing the challenge, andof course I’m delighted that I’vebeen able to recruit so many newdonors. The fact that I’ve managedto beat the 50 target just makes itextra special.”

Nominate someone specialIt is to people like Phil that we wantto give a Special Award. We arelooking for donors, supporters(individuals or organisations) andstaff who have done somethingextraordinary to help save andimprove patients’ lives. All we askyou to do is nominate them.

Perhaps you know someonewho is truly dedicated – someonelike Ronald Kent, from Bucklebury,near Newbury, who was one of ourvaluable voluntary helpers for astaggering 56 years. The 80 yearold former headteacher began hisspecial service as a blood donor in1946 and recruited many of hisneighbours to give blood. He reallyhas made a difference in theReading and Newbury area.

Back in 1950 he became avoluntary driver, using his own carto ferry blood donors to and fromsessions. Ronald went on tobecome a session organiser and

continued to run his ferrying servicefor another 40 years, until his recentretirement in 2002. He also becamea driver for the Newbury hospitalcar service. In total, Ronald hasnotched up a mighty 380,000 mileson the road in his efforts to helpthose less fortunate than himself.Without his help, hundreds ofdonors would have been unable togive blood, so we at the NBS have ‘A lot to say thank you for...’ to him.

These are just two examples ofthe efforts of some very specialpeople. Their work often goes

Do you know any unsung heroes? We’re looking for ordinary peoplewho have done something extraordinary to help the National BloodService. But we need you to tell us who they are

‘Special Awards’ nomination form

Who do you think the National Blood Service has a lot to say thank you for…

A lot to say

thank you for...

Do you know a member of staff or a team who cameup trumps against the odds? Like the member of staffwho didn’t just support a patient by producing thevital blood product but actually gave much neededmoral support by visiting them through their treat-ment. Or the team who, faced with adverse weatherand a frozen lorry lift, transported all the equipment byhand to make sure the blood donor session continued.

Do you know a donor who went beyond the call ofduty? Like the person who went to great lengths toovercome a serious phobia of needles to help othersby giving blood.

Do you know a group of people who did the unexpect-ed? Like the group who challenged themselves to getthousands of new donors for the NBS by travelling theUK raising awareness. Or the recipient and their familywho all ran a marathon to make sure others knew how important donating blood is.

Do you know a person or organisation who has gonethat extra mile? Like the company who encouragedover 80% of their staff to help by giving blood for theBank Holiday at a weekend blood donor session.Or the person who, using their contacts, voluntarilychampioned a local promotion which gained over2,000 new donors.

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Phil ran 50 miles of road races andencouraged over 50 people tosign up to become donors

Don’t forget to ask for anomination form

You can nominate anyoneinvolved with the NBS

"A pint! That’s very nearly an armful!"

We used to collectblood in bottles thatlooked rather like

milk bottles... which has also helped

to perpetuate the pint of blood myth.

unnoticed, but with your help wecan find and thank them for theirspecial contribution.

You can pick up a nominationform, shown above, at any donorsession, or call our Donor Helplineon 0845 7 711 711, or email us atspecial.awards@nbs.nhs.uk

So please, send in a nominationand help us to show everyone whywe have ‘A lot to say thank youfor…’

The special act must havetaken place between 1stSeptember 2002 and 30thSeptember 2003 which is theclosing date for nominations.

Not many peopleknow this!

The average person hasabout 333,200 million

blood cells in their body!

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BONE MARROW

THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 9Become a bone marrow donor call 0845 7 711 711

BONE MARROW

8 THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465

Mel left hospital the next day andspent the week taking it easy. Shesays, “I would do it all over again. Ihave given a patient and their familythe very best chance they can haveto survive and that feels great.”

Knowing the battleMel’s own son, Keiran, battledagainst leukaemia for three years,and she knows the desperation thepatient and their family will have felt.

“Keiran did not actually need atransplant in the end, but I wouldhave expected there to be oneavailable. When you are a parent inthat position, you are just sograteful that someone else hasthought about this and putthemselves forward as a donor. ”

Chris Cheshire, from Northfleet,found herself in this situation whenher daughter Georgia was admittedto Great Ormond Street Hospitalwith leukaemia in 1995. There she

The campaign for bone marrow donors

7% ahead of target, and animpressive 42% increase on2001/2002. About 40% of theregistrants have new tissue types,which increases the chances offinding the right match.

The BBMR has become thefastest growing bone marrowregister and is now the eighthlargest of its kind in the world. The

BBMR’s growth during these pastthree years, nearly 90,000enrolments, enables us to supportmore transplants.

One person who enrolledrecently is Mel Rodriguez fromChatham in Kent.

Mel, 30, is mum to Keiran, 11,and Charlie, 4, and had been on theBBMR since January. Two monthslater, she found out she was apossible match for a patient.

“I couldn’t believe it,’ says Mel.But it was true. She was told thatshe was a definite match for acritically ill patient. Mel shruggedoff any concerns about theprocedure saying, “I was a bitworried about the prospect ofdonating my bone marrow, butevery time I felt anxious I justthought about the patient andwhat it meant for their family.”

Mel went into King’s CollegeHospital on May 12, to donate herbone marrow the next day under ageneral anaesthetic (the medicalterm is harvested). Mel says, “Iwoke up feeling very stiff in myback, dehydrated and hungry. I didexperience some discomfort but Iknew it would pass in a week.”

donors were encouraged to enrol on the British Bone MarrowRegister (BBMR). Many did so.

But the success of Alice’s appeal,and similar ones around thecountry, put pressure on the limitedresources of the NBS for testing thesamples and entering donors on theregister. Staff in the labs wereworking flat out and still couldn’tkeep up with the number ofsamples arriving.

Carol decided to go to the top.Just before the last election, onBBC’s Question Time, sheconfronted Tony Blair and told him funds were needed to recruit

more bone marrow donors.It worked. In August 2001 plans

for new funding were put in place.The goal – to enable the BBMR toenrol 40,000 new donors each yearfor the following three years. All theNBS had to do was to increase itsstaff and lab equipment, boostadministration of the BBMR and,yes, enrol those potential donors.

Great successWe have just completed the firstyear, and what a success we’ve had!In the year April 2002 – April 2003the BBMR enrolled 42,634 newpotential donors on its register –

met Mel, who was caring for herson Keiran. The pair have beenfriends ever since.

Chris says, “Georgia was

extremely ill and I knew that a bonemarrow transplant was her onlychance. I couldn’t believe it whenthey told me they might never findone. When they did the relief wasimmense. Everyone on that bonemarrow register gave us hope.”

Tragically, Georgia did not survivelong enough to have her transplant.But together with Mel and Mel’smum, Val, who was diagnosed withbreast cancer in 2000, they havecontinued to raise funds andawareness about leukaemia, othercancers, and the constant need forblood and bone marrow donors.

Vital treatment“All three of us have been affectedby cancer, and nearly everyone youmeet knows someone affected byit,” says Mel. “Blood and plateletsare vital for almost all cancer careand sustained Georgia and Keiranthroughout their illnesses. Theymust have received many, manyunits between them. This showswhy the NBS has to collect 9,000units of blood every day.”

Chris adds, “I hope our storiesshow that there are childreneverywhere who need bone

It is every parent’s nightmare.Your child needs a bone marrow transplant, but has a

rare tissue type and there are nosuitable donors available.

This happened to the Maddocksfamily of Dewsbury. Three yearsago, 10 year-old Alice Maddocksdeveloped aplastic anaemia. Butinstead of simply waiting andhoping for a match to be found, herparents Carol and Dean tookmatters into their own hands.

They decided to start a campaignto increase the number of potentialdonors registered – the moredonors there are, the greater thechance of finding a match, not justfor Alice but for all patients whoneed a bone marrow transplant.

They approached the NBS and a special blood donor session was set up at Alice’s school where

Still campaigning to encouragenew donors. Alice (centre) athome with mum Carol and dadDean

Left: Mel Rodriguez (centre) whohappily donated bone marrow,with Chris Cheshire (left). Kieranand mum Val are pictured too

Could you be a bone marrow donor? We want to recruit another 40,000 this year. It could make the difference between life anddeath for children like Alice Maddocks

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marrow transplants and, with just asmall sacrifice, you could give themtheir lives back.”

Alice Maddocks is just one of the many patients still waiting for that special match. Her motherCarol has a message for blood

donors everywhere, ”Alice hasreceived over 100 units of bloodand platelets and we are gratefulfor every single bag. Thank you.”

Joining the BBMR is easy. You needto be aged between 18 and 44 andin general good health. You alsoneed to be eligible to become ablood donor. Before starting yourdonation just let staff know that youwould like to join the BBMR. That’sall there is to it! For more informa-tion about this please call 0845 7 711711 or go to www.blood.co.uk

what a successwe’ve had... an impressive

42% increase on2001/2002.

“there are childreneverywhere who

need bone marrowand with just

a small sacrifice, you could give them

their lives back.”

Last year, we aimed to recruit 1500 newpotential donors from ethnic communities. Although we fell a littleshort of this, the percentage of ethnicdonors on the BBMR doubled from 1.7%to 3.5%.

The NBS target for 2003/2004 is 40,000new donors enrolled and again wewould particularly welcome donors fromall ethnic communities. Ethnic donorsare needed because only they have therarer blood and tissue types suitable forpatients from the same or similar ethnicbackgrounds.

The Chinese Channel recently paid a visit to theNBS Centre in Colindale. Whilst filming there, several of the team decided that they too wouldbecome donors, giving their first donations and

signing up to the register to be potential bone marrow donors. The programme, whichencourages blood and bone marrow donation, willbe broadcast later in the year.

First steps

10 THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 Become a blood donor today call 0845 7 711 711

Pam from Bristol didn’t thinkmuch could be wrong whenher little son Jack began

complaining of a sore throat andtiredness. She took him to the doctor, who suspected a virus butwas puzzled by a scattering of tinyred marks under his arms. To be onthe safe side, Jack was immediatelyreferred to the Bristol Children’sHospital for blood tests.

Devastating newsWithin 24 hours Pam receiveddevastating news. A blood testshowed that Jack had AcuteLymphoblastic Leukaemia, a cancerof the white blood cells. The smallred marks under his arms were acommon symptom of the cancer.

During his first weeks in hospital,Jack’s platelet and red cell countswere so low that he needed regularblood and platelet transfusions.

His mother Pam remembers,“Watching the transfusions was likewatching a miracle – one minuteJack would be pale and listless, thenwe’d see the blood bag start toempty and he’d gain colour andstrength before our eyes.”

To kill the cancer cells, Jack

and started to make plans aboutwhat he’d like to do when he gotbetter – including learning karate!

In April 2002, with the treatment complete, Jack and hisfamily staged a party to thankeveryone who had supported themthrough the three-year ordeal –caring friends, teachers, medics,support workers, neighbours and colleagues.

They also attended a BloodDonor Awards ceremony in Bristolto thank just some of the blooddonors who had helped keep Jackalive during those early days.

Fighting fit againThe great news is that Jack, nowten, is in remission and although arelapse can’t be ruled out he reallyis fighting fit. Friday evenings in theBeddard Coll house are now‘Karate’ nights; Jack’s dream tolearn karate has become a realityand he’s just gained his yellow belt.

Recently Pam and Jack attendeda leukaemia conference in Turkey,hosted by a foundation that looksafter Turkish children with theillness. They learnt that the familiesof sick children in the country hadto pay for the life-saving bloodtransfusions that Jack had receivedwithout question.

Pam says, “We are lucky to live ina country where people give bloodbecause they want to. Jack isdefinitely getting there now, andthere simply aren’t words to explainhow grateful we are to the blooddonors who helped him. Whoeveryou are and wherever you live,thank you so much for helping togive us our Jack back.”

CHILDHOOD CANCER

THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 11Don’t forget the Helpline number 0845 7 711 711

Leukaemia makes up one third of all diagnosedchildhood cancers. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemiais by far the most common form. About 650 casesare diagnosed each year. Although the news canbe devastating, there is hope. Provided theleukaemia is diagnosed early and treatment startsquickly, 70% will go on to make a full recovery.

For many children transfusions of blood andplatelets are vital in the early weeks. They also help to support them throughout their intensiveand often greulling treatment.

A blood transfusion is often a very quick and relatively simple way of correcting anaemia. It can rapidly ease unpleasant symptoms such astiredness, weakness and breathlessness.

High doses of chemotherapy can cause lowplatelet counts. If the number of platelets in theirblood is low a patient may bruise easily and bleedheavily, from even minor cuts or bruises. A platelettransfusion can help to correct this.

For children like Jack, your donations really dohelp to save lives.

Providing a life line for Leukaemia

at the busy Coventry andWarwickshire Hospital where heand his colleagues treat more than65,000 people every year. Only ahandful of them will get a bloodtransfusion whilst in their care.

Main concern“Despite the horrific blood lossassociated with accident andemergencies, our main concern isto prevent further blood loss fromserious injuries such as thoseresulting from road accidents, fallsor fights,” he explains. “Once wehave stabilised patients, they canbe transferred to intensive care oroperating theatres where they willalmost certainly be given bloodtransfusions.

“People coming into A&E withserious injuries are routinely cross-matched and prepared in case theyneed a transfusion during their stayin hospital,” he explains.

Cross-matching involves testinga sample of the patient’s blood todetermine the blood group andchecking it for compatibility withblood available for transfusion.

“If we need to transfuse blood itis only in the most serious ofsituations, which will mean that wewon’t even have time to wait the30 minutes or so it takes to cross-match a patient’s blood group.

ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY

stored for that purpose near A & Edepartments.”

For this reason, people who havethe O blood group are quite literallylife-savers.

“O negative blood is so valuableto us because it can safely be givento any other blood group,” explainsConor, “but because O negative isso rare – only 7% of us have thisblood group – we often use Opositive blood as well. Once patientsare in intensive care or operatingtheatres, they will be transfusedwith their own blood group.”

Vital suppliesConor knows how vital it is forhospitals to have enough bloodand blood products for critically illpatients, and has been a blooddonor since his days as a medicalstudent in Ireland.

“Although we don’t use bloodnearly as regularly as our colleaguesin other medical departments, wedo rely on maintaining a supply ofthe O blood groups. If you areeither O positive or O negativedon’t forget to donate. Your blooddefinitely could be the differencebetween life and death for aseriously injured person.”

began a gruelling course ofchemotherapy that was to lastthree years. The side effects weredevastating: hair loss, sickness,weight loss, high fevers and mouthulcers. His family grew used to aroutine of hospital visits. Pam andJack’s baby brother Dominic wouldkeep Jack company during the day,and Jack’s father Tony would do thelong and lonely night-shift.

During his first year of treatmentJack lost six of his hospitalplaymates to cancer. Thechemotherapy regime wasgruelling, but Jack was tough.

Pam says, “In three years, hetook many thousands of tablets,several gallons of toxic liquids andendured over 200 injections, rarelywith a complaint.” He attendedschool when he felt well enough

A matter of life and death Jack (right) does battle with hisfriend Archie, but his biggerbattle was with leukaemia

Conor and his A&E colleaguesprevent major blood loss before atransfusion is considered Winning the fight

Five-year-old Jack Beddard Coll was a typicallittle boy, until he was struck down with cancer.But thanks to chemotherapy and countlessblood transfusions, he’s fighting fit again

Most of us enjoy a goodmedical drama – thedramatic trolley dash

through the Accident andEmergency department (A&E) asdoctors bark instructions over thehapless patient. Of course theyneed loads of blood for the victim,don’t they?

Well, surprisingly, no. A&Edepartments are one of the placesin a hospital where blood productsare least likely to be used. An A&Edoctor’s main job is to stabiliseseriously injured patients beforemoving them to other areas whereblood will be used. When blood isused in A&E departments it willinvariably be one of two types – Opositive or O negative.

Conor Kelly has been an A&Econsultant for nearly eight years.For the last five years he has worked

More than eightout of ten of us areRhesus positive. In an emergency, Opositive blood couldbe given to most ofus. Giving Rhesuspositive blood to aRhesus negativepatient could leadto the formation ofantibodies in theirblood. For manypatients this won’tlead to problems.

But, when the patient is a woman who later becomes pregnant,these antibodies could cross from the mother’s blood into thebaby’s blood. In most cases the baby would come to no harm.However, with some antibodies, especially if levels are high, thebaby can become anaemic and develop yellow jaundice after birth.This condition is known as rhesus disease.

If a patient had previously received blood, it’s possible they couldhave formed antibodies in their blood that could react against anylater transfusion that did not match their blood group. For thesepatients, O negative blood would be selected if there wasn’t timeto test their blood for antibodies prior to transfusion.

The importance of being negative

When there are justminutes to spare beforesomeone bleeds todeath, only one kind ofblood will do. Accidentand Emergencyconsultant Conor Kellyexplains why O typeblood is so vital

Then regardless of a patient’s bloodgroup, we will transfuse O typeblood groups that are routinely

Finger on the pulse!Last year, because of the ‘finger’ test at a donor session, Idiscovered I was anaemic. Further tests showed I waslosing blood from tumours in my bowel.

Two weeks after diagnosis, I was operated on in NewCross Hospital in Wolverhampton. Eight days later I washome and two months later I was playing golf andswimming again.

Before the donor session, I had no symptoms. Had I not been a regular donor thecancer would have spread. I have now been given a clean bill of health.

ROBERT DEWAR WOLVERHAMPTON

OVER TO YOU

IS IT TRUE THAT...

QI’ve heard that the NBSnow wants to know a

donor’s ethnic origin. Why doesthis matter?

AThe ethnic origin of donors ismedically important because

it makes it easier for us to find andmatch blood for recipients withrarer blood groups. Secondly, theRace Relations Amendment Act2000 means that we have tomonitor the accessibility of ourservices to all communities,including how well we provideopportunities to donate blood.All personal donor informationremains confidential, and is seenand used only by our staff andthose we work closely with inproviding our services.

If you prefer not to give us thisinformation, that’s no problem,just tell us and we won’t ask youagain for it.

QI’ve just had a tattoo andam dismayed that I can’t

donate for 12 months. Why?My tattooist is registered withthe local council and newneedles were used.

AThere is always an infectionrisk whenever the skin is

pierced, and tattooing means lotsof piercing. Acupuncturists andother therapists who are membersof professional organisations thatare approved by the NBS arepermitted to issue theirclients/patients with certificates

showing that the body piercing hasbeen carried out under approvedconditions and is free of the risk ofinfection. As yet, there is noprofessional organisation that willdo this for tattooists.

QI have started taking 75mgof aspirin a day to thin my

blood and help prevent heartattacks. Will this affect myability to donate blood?

AYou can donate blood but,because aspirin may affect

platelet function, your donationwill not be used for preparingplatelets. That is why it is alwaysimportant to let us know if you aretaking any over the countermedication regularly.

12 THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 Find where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

Blood secretsI found the article “Secrets in theblood” fascinating but it raises aquestion in my mind. I see that ABpositives (my group) can receiveblood from all other types. Is theretherefore any point in my giving, asthere must be a wealth of supplyfrom other groups?JEAN JOHNSON

MACCLESFIELD

Editor’s response: When thereisn’t time to wait for thelaboratory tests to check apatient’s blood group, O may begiven. Only 5.5% of transfusionstake place in a hospital A&Edepartment. The remaining94.5% of patients will all receivethe correctly matched group. Sofor all our donors, from everyblood group, there are patients

who do need what you give.There are more secrets on page 14. I hope you find these fascinating too.

How did he do it?I was interested in your article in theThe Donor Spring 2003, ‘Recordholder reaches 135 pints.’ I can’tsee how Alan Runnette has

achieved this because until recentlyblood could only be given aboutevery six months. Did they havedifferent rules for the Isle of Wight?BARRIE J NEWBY

READING

Editor’s response: Yes. Before the15 regional transfusion servicescame together as the NationalBlood Service there were

different rules for differentareas. You can now donatethree times a year at intervals ofnormally not less than 16 weeks.

I haven’t the time to queueI’m a busy mother, and like manypeople, don’t have time to wait.Why don’t you haveappointments?JULIE THOMPSON

BY EMAIL

Editor’s response: We will do!Currently we’re trying out anew appointment systemaround the country. It’s earlydays, but we hope to startrolling out the system nationallyby the end of the year. Donorscan then either donate byappointment, or just turn up.The choice will be yours. There’llbe more information in the nextissue of The Donor.

We answer some of your questions about donating

Due to shortage of space not all publishedletters are printed in full. Whilst we welcome your letters, we cannot guaran-tee a reply or to publish them. However,any complaints raised will be respondedto via our complaints procedure.

THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 13Become a platelet donor call 0845 7 711 711

Jenny Diaferia is a staff nursein the busy donor centre inLiverpool. She has worked for

the NBS for 18 months, and saysshe loves the variety of her work.

“At this centre we deal with bothdonors and patients. Many of themare regulars, and I’ve come to knowthem well. I admire our donors’commitment to helping us in thevital work we do. And here, wereally do see the difference that ourtreatments can make to patients.”

One of Jenny’s first patients onthis typical Friday is Hilda, a regularwho needs treatment forWaldenstrom’s macroglobulinae-mia – a chronic condition thatmakes her severely anaemic andcauses her blood to thicken.

Looking after peopleJenny supervises Hilda’s plasmaexchange, which removes theunwanted proteins from her blood.The treatment can take up to 13/4hours, but it means Hilda is ready

for the blood transfusion she needsto treat her anaemia. Although inher 80s, Hilda is still very active andknows that without the treatmenther life would be very different.

Jenny now moves to the donorbeds. Today there’s another regularin the unit, Margaret Crawford, a

MY LIFE: Jenny DiaferiaSTAFF NURSE AT THE LIVERPOOL DONOR CENTRE

Admiring donor commitment

Working with donors and patients certainlykeeps staff nurse Jenny Diaferia busy. We look at a typical day in her life at theLiverpool Centre where she works

platelet donor. Margaret has madeover 700 donations, but Jenny stillneeds to go through the donorhealth check with her to make sureshe can donate today.

Everything’s OK and it’s only amatter of a few minutes beforeJenny has put Margaret’s detailsinto the machine, connected her toit and started the donation cycle.With her checks made, Jenny getsMargaret a cup of coffee.

Jenny carefully monitorsMargaret and the machine. After

11/2 hours, with the donationcompleted, she says goodbye andthanks her. Then it’s lunchtime anda chance to catch up on news withher colleagues.

Next caseSoon it’s time for Jenny to check on Brian who is here to make astem cell donation. Brian’s sister is suffering from non-Hodgkin’sLymphoma and a stem celltransplant offers her an importantchance of recovery.

Brian says, ”My sister had beenwell but she’s had a relapse. I’m amatch for her and hope I can helpher get better.”

Jenny carefully explains theprocedure, checks Brian’s bloodpressure and sets the machine. Thedonation (called a harvest) is acontinuous process. His blood istaken into the machine, the stemcells are separated, and the rest ofhis blood is returned. During the 5hour procedure, Jenny checksregularly to make sure Brian is fineand everything is progressing well.

By now it’s 5.00 pm and the unitis closing for the weekend butJenny’s on call. She has just beencontacted by the Royal LiverpoolUniversity Hospital. It’s an urgentcase she has to attend to, which will take over four hours tocomplete. She won’t be homemuch before midnight.

Left: Jenny checks Brian who isdonating stem cells for his sister

Last year the NBS nurses in Liverpool treated morethan 300 patients from hospitals in Merseyside andNorth Wales. Regular donors at the unit, many ofthem platelet donors coming every two or threeweeks, are used to seeing patients and see thevital treatments they receive. These are only possi-ble because of the generosity of donors. Newplatelet donors, usually blood groups O and A, areneeded in most areas. Potential platelet donorsmust already be blood donors, aged between 18and 60, weigh at least 60kg (9st 7lbs) and be ableto travel to one of the permanent donor centres,like Liverpool. For more information either ask atyour next blood donor session or call the DonorHelpline on 0845 7 711 711.

Platelets – more donors neededA

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BELLY-BUSTERSBELLY-BUSTERSWhat's Billy's

favourite pudding?

Leeches and cream!

Editor’s response: We are pleased Mr Dewar hasmade such a speedy recovery from his illness.But please remember that although ourscreening on this occasion picked upsomething, giving blood is not a full healthcheck. Robert recently visited the team tothank them for telling him to see his doctor.

Star Winner: Now fit and well, Robert Dewarwith senior nurse Jackie Sinclair at a recent localdonor session in Wolverhampton

This is your chance to tell us your news, views and interesting or unusual donor stories. Write to Penny Richardson, Editor, The Donor, National BloodService, West Derby Street, Liverpool L7 8TW

STARLETTER

STARLETTER

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STARLETTER

STARLETTER

A Star Letter will be chosen fromall your letters for the next issueof The Donor. The writer of theletter will be invited to visit aBlood Centre and given a behindthe scenes tour. You’ll don awhite coat, visit our laboratoriesand see first hand just what hap-pens to a donation of blood.You’ll get to meet the peoplewho are responsible for makingsure that vital blood and bloodproducts get from the donor tothe patient who needs them.

Why does daughter Melhave a different bloodgroup to mum Sue, but sonMatt has the same?

SECRETS IN THE BLOOD

gene has no blood groupsubstance. It is in fact an absence ofeither A or B. Therefore, if youinherit the O gene from one parentand the A gene from the other,your blood group will be A. On theother hand, if you inherit O genesfrom both parents, your bloodgroup will be O.

If you inherit the A gene fromone parent and the B gene from theother, your blood group will be AB.

You in turn can pass on eitherone of your two genes to yourchild. The child's blood group willdepend on which of these andwhich of your partner’s is passedon. If you are group A and have Aand O genes and your partner isgroup B and has the B and O genes,you could both pass on your Ogenes to your child, so the child willbe group O.

If on the other hand you pass on

14 THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 Become a bone marrow donor call 0845 7 711 711 THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 15You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465

NBS INFORMATION

If you need any information about givingblood, just call the Donor Helpline and staffwill answer your queries on:

• Where you can give blood locally• Whether you are able to give blood• Your donor session details• Becoming a bone marrow donor• How to become a platelet donor• Medical aspects of giving blood• How travelling abroad might affect your

giving blood• Any other general donor mattersRemember, you can call the Helpline to tell us ifyou have moved house or changed employers– we don't want to lose you!

Our Donor Helpline is open for generalenquiries 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

DON’T FORGET BBC2 Ceefax page 465 will giveyou details of the next two days’ blood donorsessions in your TV region.

For all your enquiries the Donor Helpline number is

0845 7 711 711ALL CALLS ARE CHARGED AT LOCAL CALL RATE

Permanent Blood Donor Sites If, for any reason, your local donor session is no longer suitable, thenit may be more convenient for you to attend one of our permanentBlood Donor Sites. Please call the Donor Helpline to find out thedetails of the centres listed here:

LONDON Edgware, Tooting, West End

NORTH Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield

NORTH EAST Newcastle-upon-Tyne

NORTH WEST Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester

MIDLANDS& Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Oxford,SOUTH Stoke-on-Trent

SOUTH EAST Luton, Cambridge, Brentwood

SOUTH WEST Bristol, Gloucester, Plymouth, Southampton

Just how do we inherit our blood group? How can two siblings with the same parents

have different blood groups? We unravel morefascinating facts for you

your A gene and your partnerpasses on his B gene, thechild will be AB! If an A andan O gene combine , the babywill be group A, and if a B andO combine, the baby will begroup B. As you can see,several different geneticcombinations are possible.The chart below will explainthis more clearly.

Giving birthThis enquiry from SusanHouse, in Middlesex, wastypical of some of thequestions our last articleraised. Susan told us: “I am Anegative, as are both mysons, but my daughter is Onegative, which your article

says is impossible. But I distinctlyremember giving birth to her, evenif it was almost 33 years ago!”

Well, to be O negative Susan’sdaughter must have inherited twoO genes – one from each parent.This tells us that, as well as an A gene, Susan must also carry an Ogene which she has passed on toher daughter.

Meanwhile, her sons have adifferent blood type because they inherited a different gene pair– either AO or AA, giving themblood type A.

So don’t worry Susan – youknow you had your daughter, butscience proves it too!

We always need new donors. So please, if you are not adonor, fill out the coupon opposite, place it in an envelope and send it to National Blood Service, FREEPOST, 75 Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 7YB, or call0845 7 711 711 now to enrol as a blood donor.

SURNAME

Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss

FIRST NAME

DATE OF BIRTH / /

ADDRESS

POSTCODE

DAYTIME PHONE No

To give blood you need to be in good health, aged 17 to 60 and weigh over 7st 12lbs/50kg. Please send this coupon to the address opposite. MO6

Answers on page 12

CHILDREN’S PUZZLE CORNER

I would like to join the NHS Blood Donor Register as someone who may be contacted and wouldbe prepared to donate blood. I understand that the National Blood Service (NBS) or its partnersmay phone, write or otherwise contact me with details of local donor sessions. I agree to the NBSholding my personal details on their donor database and processing this information as necessaryfor the proper administration of the NBS

It looks complicated but it’s easy to follow!

L ast issue, our ‘Secretsin the Blood’ articleset out to explain

some of the mysteries ofblood groups. It looked atthe ABO blood grouping system, and the four bloodtypes familiar to all donors –O, A, B and AB.

The response to this articlewas tremendous, and manyof you wrote in telling us howmuch you had enjoyed thefeature.

ConfusionHowever, we also causedconfusion in households upand down the country, withmany of your letters asking ‘ifthis is how it works, howcome...?’ So, in response toall your letters – and toprevent any family disputes –here, in a little bit more detail,is the story of how you inherit yourblood group.

Everyone’s ABO blood group iscontrolled by one pair of genes.These may be AA, AB, AO, BO, BBor OO. Many readers seem to havehad difficulties understanding how,say, two group A parents couldproduce a group O baby.

How it works The way genes are inherited andthe characteristic of the ABO genescan explain how this can happen.Every person inherits two of theABO genes, one from each parent.These genes determine what theperson's blood group will be. The O

How blood groups are inherited

POSSIBLE CHILDREN’S BLOOD GROUPSParent 1 group AB AB AB AB A A B O O OParent 2 group AB A B O A B B A B O

O – – – – ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

A ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ – ♥ – –

B ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ – ♥ ♥ – ♥ –

AB ♥ ♥ ♥ – – ♥ – – – –CHIL

DRE

N

If you are AO, and your partner BO, then your child could inherit AO,BO, OO or even AB. If you had four children they could each have adifferent blood group. The second gene can still be passed on and if itpairs with the second gene from a partner then the child can have a

blood group that appears not to match either parent. The charts below give examples of the various combinations

that could occur. The letter in bold in the chart below refers to theactual blood group of the individual.

Parent 1 Gene Pair Parent 2AB OO

AO AO BO BOPossible children’s gene pair

Parent 1 Gene Pair Parent 2AO OO

AO AO OO OOPossible children’s gene pair

DA

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THIL

L

There was a blanket of greycloud over the rolling hills of Lancashire on the

afternoon of June 8 1991, whenpolice motorcyclist Allan KingDeuchar set off on his motorbike.He was on his way to follow thefinal 64km stage of the annualBritish Milk Race, a 1000km twoweek long amateur cycling event.

Allan, from Hedge End inHampshire, was part of the MilkRace’s motorcycle escort group,many of whom were off-dutypolice officers. Their job was tolook after the safety of competitionriders and accompanying media forthe duration of the race.Photographer David Worthy fromDerby was riding pillion that day,hoping to snap the action as thecyclists raced each other towardsthe finishing line in Manchester.

Experienced riderA veteran motorcyclist with over 30years’ experience, Allan sooncaught up with the riders in Burybut got stuck in the inevitably slow-moving traffic. As he and hispassenger moved through thecrawling jam of vehicles, a carsuddenly struck them as it pulledout of a side road.

NEWS EXTRA

16 THE DONOR SUMMER 2003 Become a bone marrow donor call 0845 7 711 711

A serious accident almost killedhim, but thanks to bloodtransfusions, Allan survived toenjoy a gentler pace of life

Allan and David were thrownfrom the bike, sustaining terribleinjuries. They were rushed to BuryHospital and, as David lay inintensive care in a coma, Allanfound himself in the X-raydepartment with a shattered pelvis, two broken arms, brokenwrists, several broken fingers and a cracked hip. He wasextremely lucky to be alive.

Over the course of the next few

months Allan underwentnumerous operations. He receivedmany units of blood and bloodproducts during surgery andpainful but necessary bone grafts.

Ironically, Allan, a regular blooddonor since 1976, had begundonating because of the chance he might have needed bloodhimself one day.

He says, "Working in the trafficdepartment of the police force

Ace show from the bikers

inevitably meant attendinghorrendous accidents, so I wasaware of the value of bloodtransfusions in saving lives. I thought ‘that could be me someday’ so popped along to my localsession." He adds, "A lot of policemotorcyclists are blood donors –they’re more aware than most ofthe need for blood."

Covered in bandages and plastercasts, Allan, a keen sportsman who played squash andbadminton, and skied, nowwondered if he’d ever be able toride his bike or play sport again.

Sadly, as he lay waiting to betransferred to a hospital nearer hisSouthampton home, he heard thedevastating news that David haddied from his injuries.

On the mendThe recuperation period was longand painful. Allan has had to saygoodbye to his motorcycling daysas his wrists are no longer strongenough to ride. Medically retiredfrom the police, he now enjoys agentler pace of life on the golfcourse but has never forgottenDavid or the hospital staff andblood donors who helped to savehis life and speed his recovery.

Allan has encouraged all hisfamily, friends and fellow golfers tobecome blood donors and stillregularly donates himself, givingplatelets at the SouthamptonBlood Centre whenever he can. Hesays, "I wouldn’t be here now if itweren’t for people like mycolleagues in the police force whogive blood. I’m living proof thatgiving blood saves lives."

"I knew it could be me one day"As a police motorcyclist, Allan saw more trafficaccidents than most people. That’s why hebecame a blood donor. He even thought thatone day he might need the blood himself…

Motor biker Mark Wilsmore decided to set up an event with a realdifference – a donor session at his Ace Café in North London. Onthe day 45 people came to donate – 37 of them new donors.

Mark said, “Having needed blood myself, I thought this would bea great way to put something back into a service that saved my life.

”We hold all kinds of events here so I thought why not have ablood donation day and see if we can help save a few lives whilstgetting people together. After all, you don’t have to be a biker torealise that anyone could need blood at any time.”

Like Mark, many bikers realise how vital blood donors are – in factmotorcyclists are 20% more likely to be donors than the average per-son. So we’d like to say a special ‘Thank you’ to all of our motorcy-clist donors, especially Mark.