DELIVERINGMORETHANJUSTBLOODHow doctors – and donors – saved Wendy and baby Jaya

DELIVERINGMORETHANJUSTBLOODHow doctors – and donors – saved Wendy and baby Jaya

The heart ofthe matterDonors are helping savethe lives of heartpatients like young Ben

Questions,questions...Why we need to ask so much each time you donate

The heart ofthe matterDonors are helping savethe lives of heartpatients like young Ben

Questions,questions...Why we need to ask so much each time you donate

NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL BLOOD SERVICE

SPRING 2004

2 THE DONOR SPRING 2004 Find out where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk

WELCOME & CONTENTS

3 NEWS FEATURE How donated blood saved new mother Wendy Patel’s life

6 SINGING THEIR PRAISESWe say ‘Thank you’ to the people and teams who help the NBS

7 THE HEART OF THE MATTERBlood is an absolutely vital part of cardiac and chest surgery.We talk to the mother of Ben, a young heart patient

8 QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS…Why we ask you the same questions every time you donate

10 TWIN PASSIONSProfessors Ray and Trevor Powles have spent many yearsworking in the treatment of cancer and know how essentialblood products and bone marrow are in saving lives

11 MAKING YOUR OPINIONS COUNTRead about the results from our Donor Census and find outhow we’re getting it right

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

In this Spring issue

Heart of the matter page 7 Questions, questions… page 8

Welcome to this Spring issue of thenew-look Donor magazine. I hopeyou like it.

Transfusions were vital to ourcover girl Wendy, as following theemergency delivery of daughterJaya, doctors battled through the

night to save her life. Her story is opposite on page 3.Blood, plasma and platelets were vital too for Ben,

who needed surgery to correct a heart defect.Anthony Clarkson leads a team of dedicated nurses

who co-ordinate tissue donation in the North West. Onpage 13 we follow Anthony during a typical busy day.

The world-renowned International Blood GroupReference Laboratory solves blood grouping problemssent in from around the globe. We report on theirground-breaking work.

During their long, distinguished careers, Trevor andRay Powles have treated many thousands of cancerpatients. We found out how important blood as well as PENNY RICHARDSON – Editor

13 A TOUGH BUT REWARDING JOBA typical day for Anthony Clarkson, lead nurse at Tissue Services

14 SCIENTISTS WITH RARITY VALUEDetecting rare blood groups is one crucial part of the workcarried out by NBS scientists

15 CROSSWORDAnother challenge for you! Plus up-to-date NBS information

16 IT SHOULDN’T BE ABOUT LUCKWhy we need more bone marrow donors from all ethnicbackgrounds

bone marrow have been to many of those patients.On the back page, Jimaine Morris says he was

"lucky" to get a bone marrow transplant. He wantsmore people to join the bone marrow register because"it shouldn't be about luck".

In our centre page feature we tell you what youwant to know – why we ask all those questions everytime you donate.

Many of you have told us how much you like thisyear's calendar, very handy for noting your donor session dates. With the Easter Bank Holidays approach-ing please help us to keep stocks up. If you're invited togive blood please do try to attend the session.

All the recipients whose stories we've told in thisissue want to thank you, and so do we. Together wewill continue to help save even more lives.

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 emailto thedonor@nbs.nhs.uk. 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 of this magazine is less than the price of a first class stamp.

NBS EDITORIAL TEAM: Ruth Greenaway, Vicky Smith, Lyndsay Stewart,Rachel Yandell. NBS Project Liaison Caroline Osborne.

The Donor is published by the National Blood Service. Reproduction inwhole or part is strictly forbidden without the prior permission of theNational Blood Service. Editorial consultancy, writing, subbing, art direction, design and productionKeith Hodgson and Hilary Joseph at Ant Creative (London). Reproduction – Portland Media (London). Printed in the UK by Apple WebOffset plc on paper from sustainable forests. The National Blood Service is run by The National Blood Authority

which is a Special Health Authority within the National Health Service. NHS

Be a platelet donor call the Helpline 0845 7 711 711

Wendy was kept sedated forthree days, and received three moreblood transfusions. She was sopoorly that it was four days beforeWendy was strong enough to betaken to the neonatal ward to meether baby daughter for the first time.

Life-saving donorsNow, over a year on, when askedhow she feels Wendy says, "I feel sodifferently about blood donorsafter what we have been through,no-one told me to begin with howserious it all was." She continues,"Having blood available 24-7 issomething you take for granted,before it happens to you."

Kishor adds, "The Obstetrics &Gynaecology team saved Jaya andWendy but if they hadn’t had allthat blood available, then Jayawouldn’t have a mother and Iwould have lost my wife."

SPRING 2004 THE DONOR 3

An emergency caesarian deliverysaved baby Jaya’s life,but mother Wendyneeded emergencysurgery and manytransfusions to survive

It is not that long ago that mothers could haemorrhageand die during childbirth. Today,

armed with blood, platelets andplasma, doctors have every chanceof saving vulnerable mothers andtheir babies. For new mum WendyPatel, blood was the single mostimportant thing that kept her alive.

Pre-eclampsiaWendy had, in her words, an idealfirst pregnancy, with no sickness ortiredness. But about a monthbefore baby Jaya was due, Wendybegan displaying signs of pre-eclampsia, a potentially fatalcondition, in which the bloodpressure rises and blood flow fromthe placenta to the baby is at risk.

Wendy and her husband Kishorwent to Tameside General Hospitalin Ashton-under-Lyne that eveningfor a check-up. A scan was doneand her consultant becameconcerned that Jaya had not grownbetween her 32 week and 36 weekscan. The consultant decided thatWendy’s baby should be induced.Kishor went home to Stalybridge toget Wendy an overnight bag butwhilst he was there he got a callfrom the hospital – Jaya’s heartbeatcould not be detected and doctorswere going to have to do anemergency caesarean section.

The birthKishor says, "They had literallyrushed her into surgery secondsafter they called me. I paced thehospital corridors just waiting andhoping they would both be okay."Jaya was born at 10.35 p.m. on

December 4th, 2002. She weighedjust 4lb 3oz and had somebreathing difficulties, so she wastaken to the neonatal unit. Whilst

the surgeon was completing thecaesarean section it became clearthat the placenta was embedded inWendy’s uterus so they called backthe consultant who passed Kishorsaying, "Congratulations on thebirth of your baby!” as he rushedback to join the team workingdesperately to save Wendy’s life.

"I phoned the new grandparentsabout an hour and a half after Jayawas born, but Wendy was still insurgery," continues Kishor. "Thenshortly after one in the morning, anurse asked me to phone thegrandparents again, this time to tellthem to come to the hospital asWendy was in a bad way, doctorscouldn’t stop the bleeding."

In the four hours Wendy hadbeen in surgery she received nineunits of red cells and platelets, butstill the surgical team of five doctorscould not stop the bleeding.

Blue light deliveryAt three a.m. a ‘blue-light’emergency delivery of platelets(clotting agent) was dispatchedfrom the Sheffield blood centre. AsWendy was receiving theseplatelets, the surgical team inserteda balloon stitch to stem the flow ofblood. Slowly Wendy stoppedbleeding and at five a.m. she wastransferred to intensive care.

Kishor, Wendy and Jaya, oneyear after the big drama

NEWS FEATURE

Double delivery: bloodand a baby in one night!

“ But if they hadn’thad all that blood

available, then Jaya wouldn’t have

a mother and I would have

lost my wife.”

NEWS

You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465

A change to the rules for blood donors

Recently a governmentannouncement has

been made concerning vari-ant Creutzfeldt-JakobDisease (vCJD) and blooddonation.

A further precautionarymeasure is to be taken toreduce the possible risk ofvCJD being passed on fromdonor to patient.

Sadly, as from 5th April2004 we will no longer beable to accept blood dona-tions from people whohave received blood duringthe course of any medicaltreatment or procedure inthe UK since 1st January1980.

If this new rule applies toyou then please let us knowby calling our donorhelpline on 0845 7 711 711,so we can send you moreinformation about thisdecision. Please don’t thinkof this as the end of yourtime as a blood donor. Like

A clean sweep

We are always workingtowards improving

the safety of blood. We havealready done a lot to reducethe risk of bacterialcontamination by introducinga pouch in which the first30ml of blood are collected.

Collecting the first fewdrops stops any skin bacteriaon the needle from gettinginto the blood pack.

Now a new method ofarm cleansing before dona-tion is being introduced. Thiswill help to reduce further therisk of bacterial contamina-tion of blood from bacteria

on a donor’s arm. Bacteria are present on all

skin and there is a slight riskof the bacteria on the armgetting into the pack whenthe needle is inserted.

The alcohol wipes used atthe moment reduce bacteriabut trials have shown thatthe new antiseptic swabs aremuch more effective. We willsimply wipe your arm for 30seconds with the pad andthen let the disinfectant dry.

Some collection teams arealready using this newmethod and the others willfollow soon.

all our rules, as new scientif-ic information comes tolight, we will review the situ-ation. If you are one of ourdonors that can’t continueto give blood, above all wewould like to thank you forthe contribution your dona-tions have made to savingpatients lives.

What is vCJD?CJD is one of a group of dis-eases that affect the centralnervous system. CJD caseshave naturally occurred inseveral forms for manyyears.

Fortunately, CJD in all itsforms is very rare indeed.The more recently occurringvCJD is believed to be theconsequence of eating cont-aminated beef, related toBSE (or mad cow disease) inUK cattle herds after 1980.

CJD is not like a cold, youcan’t catch it from people inthe same room. There is also

no evidence of transmissionby sex or from mother tobaby at birth.

However, there have beena small number of con-firmed transmissions so farvia surgical instrument, tis-sue grafts and the use ofhuman derived growth hor-mones.

As receiving blood is amedical procedure, it fol-lows that vCJD may infect apatient via blood. There isno definite proof, but itremains a possibility.

Why have things changed?The UK has an exceptionallygood track record of safeblood. We constantlyreview our safety methodsto ensure that they areappropriate to any newproblems that may emerge.In December last year, newevidence came to light thata blood donor might havetransmitted vCJD to a

4 THE DONOR SPRING 2004

The last issue of The Donorcarried an appeal for

donors to make a specialeffort to donate in the run upto the Christmas and NewYear holiday.

We needed to have healthyblood stocks by Christmas.But the dip in donationscaused by the early arrival ofthe flu in November had putus under real pressure. Wehad less than four days stockand we needed to have sevendays stock in the bank by thetime Christmas arrived.

We launched ourChristmas appeal during thelast week in November withthe help of baby ChloeO’Toole, our winter issue’scover girl, pictured below.

Chloe appeared with herfather John, who was inter-viewed along with NBS com-munications manager RakeshVasishtha, on GMTV’s break-fast show.

Janet Ellis, former BluePeter presenter, also took partin the launch of our Christmascampaign which attracted

coverage by ITV and BBC aswell as many of the daily andSunday newspapers.

The following weekLifeblood, a ‘behind thescenes’ series about the NBS,presented by Janet wasbroadcast on channel Five.

Your response was tremen-dous. So much so that duringDecember stocks climbedsteadily and by Christmas Evestood at just over seven days.On top of giving the 9,000donations needed by patientsevery day you had given an

If you were interested inworking for the NBS you

might have contacted usdirectly or answered adverts.Now there’s another way.

A new website has beenlaunched that allows peopleto search for NHS jobs on line.The NBS was one of 46 NHSorganisations picked to spear-head the new venture, which

allows candidates to view jobadverts and apply for positionson one site.

An updated version of thewebsite is due at the end ofMarch, from then all NBSvacancies will be placed there.Some of the current NBSvacancies and other NHSvacancies can be seen if youvisit www.nhs.uk/jobs.

Stars from the West End show ‘Blood Brothers’, which iscurrently touring the country, supported the NBS bydropping in to meet the Milton Keynes collection team.They took time off to help promote blood donation inthe area. Pictured above is donor carer Emma Porterwho joined stars Sean Jones and Drew Ashton, who playthe brothers Mickie and Eddie.

Blood bank boost – all thanks

NBS helps launch e-recruitment

A show business partnership

NEWS

Don’t forget the Helpline number 0845 7 711 711

patient via a blood transfu-sion.

Scientists are not 100%sure that this is the case, as itis still possible that bothdonor and patient separate-ly acquired vCJD by eatingcontaminated beef. How-ever, the possibility thatvCJD was passed via bloodcannot be ruled out.

As there is no blood testto detect vCJD, it was feltthat, for the time being weneeded to ask donors whohave received blood to stopgiving.

This will exclude a groupof people who have, poten-tially, a slightly higherchance of having beenexposed to vCJD than thosewho have not receivedblood.

To put that exposure intoperspective, over the last 10years UK hospitals have usedover 23 million units ofblood, and yet this possiblecase is the first ever record-ed. The risk may be smallbut, by asking this group of

people to stop giving blood,we can make the bloodpatients receive that little bitsafer.

This is not our first step toaddressing the vCJD issue.Since 1997 we have taken anumber of other precaution-ary measures:1. The recall of any bloodcomponent from donorswho later go on to developvCJD.2. The importation of plas-ma from countries with fewor no cases of BSE to manu-facture blood products.3. The removal of whitecells from all donated bloodbefore it is transfused (whitecells may carry the vCJDinfection).4. The importation of plas-ma from countries with fewor no cases of BSE for chil-dren born on or after 1stJanuary 1996.

We are however, askingthose donors who are notsure or don’t know if theyhave received blood to con-tinue giving. If you think

this is you, then please tellour staff next time youdonate, so that yourrecords can be amended.

We have decided not toexclude people who are notsure, because our researchshows that if we did, wecould seriously reduceblood stocks and the lastthing we want to do is torun out of blood.

We have to balance theintroduction of any safetymeasure against the effectsuch a measure would haveon the blood supply.

We estimate that manythousands of blood donorswill have to stop givingblood for the time being.Over the coming months,this could add up to anenormous number of dona-tions that will be desperate-ly missed.

For years blood has savedmillions of lives and willcontinue to do so. Givingblood is as safe and asurgent as ever, so if you can,please continue giving.

In the last issue we told you abouthow we were rolling out appoint-

ments at some sessions around thecountry to give donors more flexi-bility and choice.

At virtually all our mobile ses-sions, you now have the choice tomake an appointment for a timethat’s convenient to you or just toturn up as you always have done.The choice is yours and the choicewill remain yours.

Being able to make an appoint-ment has been popular. At first,more than 500 donors were making

appointments every day. Now thefigure has risen to more than 1500every day.

Here are just some of the thingsyou have to say about the newappointments system:

" … I have given 40 pints ofblood since I first became a donorand that would certainly have been80 pints if the new appointmentsystem had been in operationwhen I started. I cannot praiseyour staff enough for their profes-sionalism and once again manythanks for the introduction of the

appointment system – I will neverdonate again unless I have anappointment."

"I spotted this on the internetthe other day and booked myselfin. I booked in for 18:00 and wassitting having my coffee at approx-imately 18:25 - it's fab!!!"

We’re still in the very earlystages of putting this new serviceinto place and, as ever, your feed-back has been useful – even whereit hasn’t always been complimenta-ry. Most importantly, it means wecan work to put things right foryou.

We are always aware that some-times the whole process takeslonger than either you or we wouldlike – and we are working hard toresolve this. The introduction ofappointments should help us tomanage this better in the futureand means that, whether you makean appointment or not, you aren’tkept waiting to donate any longerthan is really necessary.

Other areas that we will be con-sidering for the future will includefacilities to book appointments foryour next session before you leave,or offering ways that suit you bet-ter – perhaps by email, internet ortext message.

At present, if you would like tomake an appointment for yournext visit, contact the DonorHelpline on

SPRING 2004 THE DONOR 5

Appointments – the choice is

extra 24,000 units . Thisraised stocks from just overfour days to the seven dayswe needed in our bloodbanks to see us through thisholiday period.

Thank you so much. Yourgenerosity meant thatpatients continued to receivethe life-saving transfusionsthey needed.

And you’ve kept on giving.Currently blood stocks arevery healthy but we’re look-ing ahead to Easter in thesecond week of April.

Again the Bank Holidaysmean we are not able to havea full programme of donorsessions. But we will still haveto make sure that we canmeet the vital needs of hospi-tal patients.

Platelets, clotting agents inyour blood, are especially cru-cial. With a shelf life of justfive days we must plan care-fully to maintain supplies. Formany patients suffering fromdiseases such as cancer andleukaemia, platelet transfu-sions are a vital part of theirtreatment.

So, if you are due to give atthis time or you haven’tdonated recently please dotry and come along.

Thanks to a jointproject between

the NBS and theNational Health ServiceInformation Authority,124,000 new blooddonors have been reg-istered in the past twoyears.

The new schemeallows patients to regis-ter as blood donors attheir GP surgery andnew computer soft-ware enables donordetails to be updated ifthey move.

GP practices now stockleaflets with an enrolmentform that can be filled in bypatients if they wish tobecome donors.

Alternatively, if a patient isregistering with a new GP, they will be asked ifthey’d like to become a blooddonor. If the answer is yes,they’ll automatically be invit-ed to a donor session conve-niently near their home.

When a patient moves and

changes GP practice, theirdetails are automaticallyupdated and they will begiven details of the nextdonor session in their newarea.

The scheme has proved agreat success with more than16,000 of the new recruitsgoing on to make their first

Initiative nets new donors

NBS Chairman MikeFogden (left) and NHSIAChairman ProfessorBellingham

to you!

Become blood donor today call 0845 7 711 711

CAMPAIGN NEWS

6 THE DONOR SPRING 2004

her job to discusstissue donation withall bereaved relativesand liaise closely with NBS tissue donorco-ordinators.

South Westwinners dined at theC o m m o n w e a l t hMuseum in Bristol,where our youngestwinner, 12-year-oldJoanne Keenan from Exmouth,received her award. Two years agoJoanne developed leukaemia and

needed many blood transfusions,but her illness didn’t stop her fromleaving her hospital bed to appearat a local donor awards ceremony!

Liz Wakelin from Trentham, aRed Cross tea lady, was one of theMidlands winners. Liz has servedtea and biscuits to thousands ofdonors, despite a serious illness.

In the North East, BrianShackleton from Sinnington inNorth Yorkshire received his award

after he and his familyentered the GreatNorth Run to obtainpledges of donations tomatch the 300 that hiswife received beforeshe died. The family rana gruelling 13 miles,and so far more than280 donations havebeen received.

Now we’re lookingforward to the National

Award ceremony in Spring 2004,when the most outstanding of ourregional winners will be rewarded.

Last year we asked you to nominate yourunsung NBS heroes to receive one of our newSpecial Awards. Your votes flooded in, ourjudges put their heads together, and now theworthy winners have been announced

Singing their praises

And the regional winners are…North West Mick Colclough, Graham Yip, Kat Balme, AndyArmitage, Alistair Hodgson, Paul Kelly, Idris Evans,Darren Swift, the Liverpool Apheresis team.North LondonThe Joely Bear Appeal, Dr Jean Harrison, TinaHobrough, Lorraine Warren, Peter Greatrex, PeterClements, Maggie Hackney, Jonathan Holliday.South EastJan Pickering, Dev Jhurry, Carnival DSS, MichelleOatham, Mel Rodriguez, Kate Marshall, MargaretCann, Paul Montague, Beverley Casey.Anglia Joyce Cosgrove, Marion Darby, Hazel Friery, EdwardSelsby, Richard Haste, Andrew Taylor, Nick Lewis,Anne Truman, David Bennett, Lloyd Scott.South WestTrevor Cowles, Hilda Leggett, Hazel Chumbley,

Airbus UK Facilities Management Helpdesk, EmmaBillington-Drew, Brenda Jones, Derek Counter,Joanne KeenanMidlandsNorman Buckler, Vera Blower, Phyllis Shaw, JeanBates, Patricia Barlow, Mr and Mrs Thatcher, ChrisAllaway, Ray Cox, Iris Webbley, Liz Wakelin.SouthChris Portnall, Captain Tony Perkins, Amanda Gould,Allan Deuchar-King, Margaret Irving, Carole Sweeney.TrentSheffield Therapeutic Apheresis Team, Lynn Bird,Kerry Donlan, Hillary Williamson, Christine Bradley,Tim Wood, Joanne Wolstenholme, Chris Davies, Phil Royle, Derby County F.C.Yorkshire and the NorthCarol Maddocks, Gordon Taylor, Ronald Burden,Julie Steward, Brian Shackleton, Marjorie Horsman,Tom Knowles, Neil Patterson, John Horniblow,John Beall.

From all your nominations wehave picked some truly out-standing Special Award win-

ners who really have gone beyondthe call of duty to help the NBSsave and improve lives. Almost 80individuals and organisations havereceived awards, and there havebeen special celebrations up anddown the country.

Trent region winners wereentertained at the Galleries ofJustice in Nottingham. Amongthem was the NBS therapeuticapheresis team from Sheffield, whogave a seriously ill patient plasmaexchanges every day for 25consecutive days; she has nowmade a full recovery.

Another winner, Kerry Donlan, isthe driving force behind the donorsession at the Colonel Frank SeelySchool in Calverton, Nottinghamwhere over 2,000 donations havebeen made. An amazing result.

In the North West, winnersenjoyed the musical Blood Brothersat the Opera House, Manchester.One winner, Paul Kelly fromLancashire, has tirelessly promotedblood donor sessions, appeared inan NBS video and helped to enroldonors at a charity fun day.

Margaret Cann, an NBScompany contact at the ChildSupport Agency in Hastings, wentwith other winners from NorthLondon and the South East to theLondon Eye. Margaret has helpedboost CSA sessions to an averageof 140 donations.

Another company contact,Carole Sweeney from BAe Systemsin Waterlooville, Hampshire, wasone of our South winners. Carolejoined other regional winners at theSwindon Steam Rooms.

In the Anglia region, there weredinners for winners at Newmarketand Chelmsford. Lloyd Scott, aformer leukaemia patient, washonoured for his regularappearances at NBS events tothank long-serving donors.

Another Anglia winner wasAnne Truman, a bereavementofficer at the Peterborough DistrictHospital. Anne has made it part of

Winners from the Midlands(above), South (below left) andthe North West (below right)celebrate their awards.

Become a bone marrow donor call 0845 7 711 711 SPRING 2004 THE DONOR 7

RECIPIENT STORY

The heart of the matter

Blood is vital in Accident andEmergency departments,but it plays an equally

crucial role in operating theatres. Infact only eight per cent of donatedblood ends up in A&E depart-ments, while 13 per cent is usedduring life-saving chest, heart andcardio-thoracic surgery.

Blood transfusions allowpatients to survive long, invasiveand complex operations forconditions that might once havekilled them. Take Ben Webster, nowa healthy eight year-old boy, butonce a very poorlybaby who requiredsurgery for a seriousheart defect.

His mother, JudyWebster from Coalvillenear Leicester, wastold the news 20weeks into herpregnancy, whendoctors first detectedthe problem.

Cardiac surgeryBen had Fallot’sTetralogy, one of themost common formsof complex congenitalheart defects thatcause cyanosis, or a‘blue baby’. Doctorstold Judy that onceborn, Ben would needsurgery – initially atemporary bypass, toallow more blood toreach his lungs. This would last forabout two years of his life.

But the bypass didn’t work for thislong, and only seven months laterBen needed another operation.Then, when he was four years old, hehad to be fitted with a pacemaker tocontrol his heart rate which wasdropping dramatically at night. Hehas also received a cardiac valvetransplant.

Since then, Ben has been well, buthe will eventually need another heartvalve when he outgrows the currentone. Importantly for the Websterfamily, Ben can live like any normaleight year-old boy.

Life-saving bloodDuring the first four years of his lifeBen received 14 adult units ofblood, six units of plasma, and fourunits of platelets. That means atotal of 36 blood donors helpedkeep Ben alive, because it takesfour people’s donations to make

one platelet transfusion. Judy Webster is grateful for every

single donation. "I was a blooddonor myself before I becamepregnant with Ben, so I knew it wasan important thing to do, but Ididn’t realise just how vital it wasuntil Ben was born. When Icounted up how many transfusionsBen had been given, it reallybrought it home to me just how

serious his operations were andhow without the blood, plasmaand platelets he received he wouldhave died. I am so grateful to allblood donors now."

Autologous transfusionFortunately for Ben, blood wasthere for him when he needed it.Cardiac surgery can be verycomplicated and operations can

Donated blood is a precious resource. It helpedsave young Ben Webster’s life during heartsurgery. Now, new techniques may change theway donated blood is used

take hours. The patient oftenrequires a great deal of donatedblood, but new developments intechnology could mean lessdonated blood is needed, even incardiac surgery.

It’s now possible to re-circulatethe patient’s own blood during anoperation. This is one form ofautologous blood transfusion,which simply means that thepatient receives their own bloodback rather than donated blood.

The main advantage to thepatient is safety – a patient’s ownblood is the best possible match.Also, because the blood is re-circulated, there’s less waste. But,autologous transfusions are onlysuitable for some patients andsurgical procedures.

The NBS continues to work withhospitals to encourage better andsafer blood usage, includingautologous transfusion. In futurethis will allow more patients, inmore hospitals, to make use of theprocedure. But patients like Benand many others still rely ondonated blood, so we still neednew donors to enrol and regulardonors to continue rolling up theirsleeves to save lives.

Above: Judy and Ben. Left: Ben isking of his castle, like any othereight year-old boy

Medical treatmentWe want to keep our donorshealthy as well as patients, so wedo ask rather a lot of questionsabout your medical history. Ifyou’ve had a serious illness, an

operation, have seen or are waitingto see the doctor, dentist or anyother health care professional, weneed to know.

If you are being investigated ortreated for a health problem we willgenerally ask you to wait for it to beresolved before you donate. Inparticular we are concerned aboutdiseases affecting your heart orblood vessels. Giving blood couldput a strain on an unhealthy heartand we need to be sure you will bewell if you make a donation.

Some donors develop medicalconditions such as multiple sclerosis,

You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465

DONOR HEALTH CHECK

8 THE DONOR SPRING 2004

apply the same rule to all skinpiercing practitioners.

Dr Caffrey says, "To be 100%sure that you have not been put atrisk we need to know that yourpractitioner followed a highstandard of safety. No official NHS body polices the health andbeauty industry.

"Although many tattoo andpiercing studios are extremely safe,

we must eliminate any risk ofinfection. Therefore we will onlyaccept those practitioners thatoperate within the NHS or areregulated and have passed anofficial, professional qualification."

The good news is we are lookingat a test that would reduce thewaiting time after a piercing to sixmonths. Watch out for news of thisin ‘The Donor’.

that are not fully understood, and ingeneral these diseases mean theycan’t give blood.

We’re also interested in anymedication you are on or havetaken in the last seven days. Themedication, or condition it wastreating, may prevent you fromdonating. Dianne asked why she should wait seven days aftertaking antibiotics. It’s so we can be sure that the infection she was taking the medication for hasgone completely.

Common remedies Many over-the-counter painkillers

Why do we always ask you the same questionsabout your health, lifestyle and travel, everytime you donate? Veteran donor Dianne deWoolfson gets some answers from our experts

Dianne de Woolfson knowsthe ropes when it comes togiving blood. She’s made

75 donations, and knows theDonor Health Check backwards.So why, she asked us, do wealways ask the same questions –every time she donates?

The short answer is, to keepdonors like Dianne healthy andmake blood as safe as possible forthe people who receive it.

Donors get ill, or go on holiday tocountries where they may pick up ablood-borne infection, or changetheir lifestyle, or have a tattoo – andall these things can affect theirability to give blood.

Your lifestyleDianne wondered, understandably,why we ask the lifestyle questionswhen we test all blood for thediseases such as HIV, syphilis,hepatitis B and C, and Human T-cellLymphotropic Virus (HTLV) back atNBS laboratories.

Dr Liz Caffrey, lead consultant fordonor services, explains,"Not allinfections make you feel unwell,and until your body has producedantibodies or enough of the virus tobe detected, the blood tests back in our labs will not reveal their presence. This gap betweenexposure to an infection and thetests picking it up is known as the‘window period’.

"The lifestyle questions pinpointthose activities that put individualsat higher risk of picking up theseinfections. Asking those groups ofpeople not to give blood reducesthe chance of donations beinggiven in the ‘window period’, whenthe blood would be infectious to apatient, but our tests could not findthe infection."

Other infection risksAll skin piercing carries a risk ofintroducing an infection into your body, particularly hepatitis. So we ask about tattoos, skin-piercing, cosmetic treatment oracupuncture. Usually, if you havehad any of these you will have towait a year before donating.

However, if you have hadtreatment within the NHS or youhave an appropriate certificatefrom your practitioner, you can giveblood. Dianne asked why we didn’t

So, why do wealways ask the

same questions –every time?...

To keep donorshealthy and make blood

as safe as possiblefor patients

Questions, question

Become a platelet donor call 0845 7 711 711 SPRING 2004 THE DONOR 9

DONOR HEALTH CHECK

and cold remedies affect the bloodplatelets, which help blood to clotproperly. Once you’re well, you candonate, but we do need to knowwhat you took, as it affects whichblood products we can make fromyour donation. It helps to bringyour medication with you so ournurses can assess if it’s appropriatefor you to donate.

And remember, when we askyou if you think you’ve got an infection, we’re including things like septic cuts, or a boil, aswell as more obvious illnesses like chicken pox.

We ask about immunisations,including jabs for travel becausesome of these injections use live(weakened) viruses, and thesecould cause a reaction in theroutine blood tests.

Travelling abroadThis year Dianne is visiting her sonin the Gambia. She is disappointedshe will have to wait six monthsfollowing her return before she candonate again, but there are goodreasons for this.

Telling us where you havetravelled is important - manycountries carry different infectionrisks to the UK. Malaria is a bigworry as the UK has the highest

a high number of infectedmosquitoes you may be partiallyresistant (immune) to malaria. Wewould always need to test thesedonors. If the test is negative, thenwe can use their donations.

People who have visited NorthAmerica between June and the endof November may have beenexposed to West Nile Virus, carriedby mosquitoes. So far there havebeen no cases of West Nile Virus inthe UK but we still ask you to waitfor 28 days before donating. We

you might have caught the parasiteand we’ll need to test your blood.

Fortunately this infection is veryrare in England, and to date wehave only found one donor with apositive test for the parasite.

We hope after reading this youwill see that the questions we askare there to safeguard your safety

and the safety of patients. Everytime you donate, please treat it asyour first time. Your health or thatof a patient could depend on it.

Remember, if a question makesyou unsure if you can donate,please contact the donor helplineon 0845 7 711 711. A phone callcould save you a wasted journey.

Dianne completes her HealthCheck at home (left) before havingit checked on session by donorcarer Jeanna Carswell, (right) atthe Solihull Donor Centre

incidence of travel-associatedmalaria in Northern Europe andNorth America.

Mosquitoes carry malariaparasites and infect people bybiting them. Despite our rigorousprocedures, there has been onedeath from malaria via a bloodtransfusion in the last ten years.

If you travel to an area wherethere is a malaria risk we can testyou for antibodies but only after sixmonths. Without a test you wouldneed to wait a year to be sure youare not carrying the infection.

If you have lived in Africa orPapua New Guinea where there are

are looking into the possibility oftesting for WNV so there would beno need to postpone donation.

What about Central and SouthAmerica? Well they’re home to aparasite called Trypanosoma cruzii.People who are infected candevelop rather nasty healthproblems, but may not become illfor many years.

It’s transmitted by biting insects,and can also be transmitted frommother to baby. If you or yourmother were born in one of theseregions, if you have had a bloodtransfusion there, or lived in asubsistence farming community,

From 5th April , a new look Donor Health Check (DHC) questionnairewill be dropping on your mat. It’s now in colour, has larger type, and,we hope, is in plainer English. Altogether, we think you will find iteasier to fill in. Please don’t bring your old black and white DHC tosession after that date. We can’t accept it and will ask you to fill in anew one. So please remember to bring your new DHC!

New look in April 2004

s, questions…

Become a bone marrow donor call 0845 7 711 711

CANCER TREATMENT

10 THE DONOR SPRING 2004

Twin passions

You could say it’s in the blood. Twin brothers Professors Ray and TrevorPowles are both renowned in the field of cancer treatment, and bothrecognise the importance of donated blood and bone marrow in helpingcancer patients cope with their illness – and beat it

It was endocrinology that firstattracted Trevor Powles (theelder twin by 20 minutes) into

the field of cancer treatment.Looking at how hormonal dysfunc-tion causes disease led him to workin bone diseases and breast cancer.During his 30 years as a consultant,Trevor has treated many thousandsof patients and pioneered breastcancer prevention. He was Head ofthe Royal Marsden’s Breast CancerUnit until he retired last year.

The Royal Marsden is the world’soldest cancer hospital, and morethan 30,000 patients from acrossthe globe are referred each year.Patients undergoing radiotherapyand chemotherapy treatment fortheir cancer need blood products,because the treatment interfereswith their bone marrow’s ability toproduce blood cells.

The hospital has two sites, andboth rely heavily on large amounts

of donated blood and bloodproducts. At the Chelsea site,approximately 4500 packs of redcells and 600 packs of platelets areused annually. At the Sutton site,the hospital uses about 8000 packsof red cells and 5000 of plateletsare used each year.

Alternative interestBrother Ray preferred immunology,which led to an interest inimmunotherapy (treatments thatuse the immune system to attackcancers). Ray became a pioneer inthe field of bone marrowtransplantation as a treatment forleukaemia. As a consultant at theRoyal Marsden he was the Head ofthe Leukaemia and MyelomaResearch Unit until he retired fromthe post last November.

In 1973 Ray performed the firstsuccessful bone marrow transplantin Europe, on seven-year-old Ian

Cuneen. It was a success, and twoyears ago Ian went to a party heldat the Royal Marsden to celebrate

its first and 2,500th bone marrowtransplant patient.

Ray knows how absolutelycrucial blood and bone marrowdonations are for treating cancerpatients. He says, "As a medical

student on a leukaemia ward,where the average survival foryoung sufferers was less than sixweeks, the gift of blood was all thathelped. Now with half thesepatients cured and more bloodneeded than ever before, the valueof this gift for leukaemia and othercancer treatments is incalculable."

Ray adds, "Acute leukaemiapatients all need blood and platelettransfusions, and in the course oftheir treatment, patients successfulin beating the disease will receive atleast ten units of each. Also,patients who relapse often receivemany transfusions in the fight tobeat the cancer."

Demand goes onAs our knowledge of cancertreatment increases, so does thedemand for blood. Intensivetreatments for patients withmyeloma, chronic leukaemias andlymphomas are only possible ifdonated blood and bone marroware available.

Ray and Trevor worked for theNHS for over 30 years in the field ofcancer study and treatment, and in2002 were recognised in the NewYear’s Honours List when they wereboth awarded CBEs.

At the time Professor Ray Powlessaid, "To receive such a wonderfulhonour as a shop floor doctor isvery special – it represents all that isgreat about the NHS and makes me feel a privileged ambassador for its 1.3 million committed anddedicated employees."

Despite retiring, the brothers arestill working in their chosen fields.Trevor is currently the leadphysician at the Parkside CancerCentre in Wimbledon and Ray hasjust joined him there. Neitherbrother will ever forget howimportant the generosity of blooddonors has been over the years andhow vital blood is in the treatmentof their patients.

Ray (left) and Trevor Powles,pioneers in cancer preventionand treatment

acute leukaemiapatients all need

blood and platelettransfusions...

... also, patients whorelapse often receivemany transfusions inthe fight to beat the

cancer

TER

RY

KA

NE/

DEA

DLI

NEP

IX

Find out where to give blood visit www.blood.co.uk SPRING 2004 THE DONOR 11

DONOR CENSUS

Making your opinions count!

After months of number-crunching, the NBS has digested the findings

of last year’s census of donors.Crispin Wickenden and his team in the market researchdepartment processed nearly60,000 replies to our survey – anexcellent response. But why was it necessary?

Says Crispin, "Carrying out alarge scale census would give usmore detailed information aboutdonors than we had ever gainedbefore. We anticipated that as well as updating past research, this survey would uncover newinformation about our donors."

As well as finding out about you,we wanted to know what you thinkabout the NBS and about givingblood.

Almost 50 per cent of donorsgiven a survey form completed andreturned it. The results were thenevaluated based on age, genderand region, to provide results thatrepresent all donors.

Communicating with youThe local session informationleaflet that comes with yourinvitation has proved a great hit.Almost 80 per cent of you use itregularly. Roughly a quarter of youtelephone the donor helplinewhilst 14 per cent visit the NBSwebsite.

One of our departments inter-ested in the findings from theresearch is Direct Marketing.They’re responsible for most ofwhat you receive from us.

Assistant Manager GrahamBrown explains, "The survey high-lighted that donors still prefer toreceive letters, before other formsof communication such as email,text message or telephone calls.We do anticipate though that intime, people will begin to favournew technology."

Amongst 17-29 year olds, 33 percent said they would prefer email ortext message reminders, in theolder age groups this fell to just 12per cent, with more than 78 percent favouring letters or cards.

Paying heedAlthough you described our lettersas ‘professional’, ‘worthwhile’ and‘informative’, some of you thoughtthey were ‘cold’ and ‘boring’.Graham says, "It may be time to

give our communications a‘facelift’. This is something we’dstarted to work on. We’re nowplanning to talk with donors to helpus improve our contact with you.

Telephone calls were the leastpopular means of communicating

Last year we sent out our first donor census to120,000 donors at random. Crispin Wickenden,head of market research, explains why it wasnecessary and what they found out that will beof benefit to all donors

More detail: The Census helps usto get to know you better

in the main shopping area, to enable donors to walk to the session."

AppointmentsOn the whole, donors surveyedwere happy with the level of servicethey received at a session, andintend to continue donating.

This is very positive but we’re stillseeking to improve the parts of theservice you were less satisfied with,which according to the censusincludes waiting times.

Session appointments aregradually being introduced, and bythe end of 2004 all public sessionsshould be able to offerappointments for those donorswho’d prefer them.

Positive conclusionOverall you told us that you consideredgiving blood to be a worthwhile andreasonably comfortable experience.You were generally positive about thechanges you have seen.

We’d like to say a big thank youto all donors who spent time fillingin and returning the questionnaires.The valuable information you‘veprovided is helping us in our currentdevelopments.

We will to continue to ask foropinions and information from youto help us to further improve theservice we offer.

percentage of our walkers whilst theEast Midlands had the fewest, withdonors there favouring theconvenience of their car.

These factors are consideredwhen planning a session as KenBarker, regional collection planningmanager explains. "When plan-ning the sessions our aim is toattract the right number of donorsto fill each one. To achieve this we try to find venues that are convenient for all our donors to attend.

"Whenever possible, we use alocally well-known venue that not only has good parking facilitiesbut is also on a main bus route.Ideally we also look for somewherethat is centrally located, perhaps

with blood donors. Grahamcontinues, "Telephone reminderswork but we also know that somedonors find them unnecessary. Thisresearch has suggested that weshould try to limit them to when weknow blood collections need aboost, like around Bank Holidays."

Recent evidence proves the valueof reminders. Says Graham, "Nearthe end of 2003 we saw a fall inblood stocks. We increased thenumber of telephone and postalreminders and our donors’response was tremendous. In justseven weeks, more than 24,000extra donations were given. Thismeant that blood stocks were onceagain at a healthy level, particularlyimportant to see us over theChristmas and New Year period."

TravelThe census also looked at how youtravel to sessions. Nearly 60 per centof you drive, while more than 32 percent choose to walk. Naturally,London donors accounted for a high

Overall you told usthat you considered

giving blood to be a

worthwhile and reasonably

comfortableexperience

You can host a company session call 0845 7 711 711

OVER TO YOU

12 THE DONOR SPRING 2004

feel that it is carried too far.My husband and I, donors for many

years, enjoy travelling and are,therefore, unable to donate bloodfor 12 months – a loss of 6donations. We have visited China,Vietnam, Sri Lanka and South Africa,never saw a mosquito or indulged insexual intercourse with others, yetwe were banned from donating.

This summer we visited Alaskaand the Yukon and, on our return,were told we could not donatebecause of a few cases of SARSthousands of miles across NorthAmerica from where we were. Is itworth continuing?BARBARA LORD

MEXBOROUGH

Editor’s response Yes, please carryon. Our guidelines must beapplied to all donors throughoutthe UK, but on the plus side, you’llsee in our centre page featurethat you now only have to wait sixmonths after returning to the UKbefore donating.

Getting to the Point!I certainly can’t be described as small or frail – I’m 6 feet 4 inchestall and 16 stones. Yet in a sense, I thought of myself as weakbecause I’d abstained from donating blood for manyyears…because I didn’t like needles!

The irony is that I’ve also been a firefighter for 18 years andhad professionally dealt with many traumatic incidents. Yet, Ifound the concept of giving blood difficult.

I decided that I couldn’t base a logical observationupon something I’d never experienced before! So, a turningpoint was my New Year’s resolution in 2002 – I told a smallgroup of friends that I would donate blood that year. Then Itold more friends and colleagues that I was going to attend aspecific session.There was no turning back!I’ve now donated blood four times and also registered for

bone marrow donation. I’m proud to be a blood donor, andwould advise anyone who’s never donated to ‘Go for it!’MICHAEL ROWLEY BY EMAIL

IS IT TRUE THAT...

QWhen blood is beingcollected why do you

shake the bag?

AThe collection bag containsan anti-coagulant that

prevents the donated blood fromclotting. Gently rocking the bagmakes sure that the contents arethoroughly mixed so that the blooddoes not clot.

QSqueezing the hand rollerused to help me donate.

Why have you stopped givingthem out?

AThis is a further safetymeasure to reduce the

possibility of bacteria getting into a

blood donation or being transferedfrom one donor’s hand to another.The equipment used to collectblood is used only once, but therollers were passed from donor todonor. Squeezing your fingers intothe palm of your hand when askedto by your donor carer will helpyour donation in the same way.

QI have high blood pressure.I have been told that

giving blood will probably dome some good because it willbring my blood pressure down.

A If your blood presssure isbeing controlled by diuretic

medication only, then provided

your blood pressure is at a safelevel you may donate. You must inform the staff at thesession about your medication. If it is being controlled by BetaBlockers or ACE Inhibitors, youwould be unable to donate. This isbecause the medication works bydilating the blood vessels andslowing down the heartbeat,whereas the body's naturalresponse to the donation process isto constrict the blood vessels andspeed up the heartbeat. This could cause an adversereaction, and for this reason wewould consider it dangerous foryou if you were to donate.

Value for moneyAfter reading the letter fromM.Williams in the winter issue, I feltI just had to write.

As a regular donor for manyyears, I still enjoy reading yourmagazine (as do my family), as I feelappreciated for my donation. Toread the life-changing experiencesrelated in the articles gives me a real boost.

Another plus point being that myknowledge of medical conditions(and their treatment) has alsoexpanded. I have also receivedphone calls asking if I would be ableto attend a session. As a busyworking mother of four, things doslip my memory at times and a call isgratefully received. Surely to staffdonor sessions that had poorattendance (or to cancel operationsdue to lack of blood) would be agreater waste of NHS resources.MRS T A MERRITT

DONCASTER

Editor’s response M.Williams'letter prompted many of you towrite. Gill Hickey and Paul Carr-Griffiths take The Donor intowork for colleagues to read.

Mrs N Offer and Caryl Hectorboth agreed it was good to keepin touch during the times whenthey’d been unable to donate.Some donors, however, doprefer not to receive The Donor.If you’re one, please tell us andwe’ll amend our records.

A committed fan and donorMy husband Mark is an avid rugbysupporter and plays every Saturdayfor our local club the OldAbbostonians. All the membersand guests were at the club on the

morning of the Rugby World CupFinal. A special breakfast washeddown with pints of beer was theorder of the day but he wasdrinking lemonade because he’dpromised he would donate bloodlater that day.I hope you think he’s as wonderfuland selfless as I do!PAT HOOPER

HILLINGDON

Too cautiousI understand the need to be vigilantin checking donors but sometimes

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.

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 or email thedonor@nbs.nhs.uk

STARLETTER

STARLETTER

Star Winner Michael Rowley

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.

Register as an organ donor see www.blood.co.uk

MY LIFEANTHONY CLARKSON

LEAD NURSE, TISSUE SERVICES

SPRING 2004 THE DONOR 13

A tough but reassuring jobAnthony Clarkson has

been with the TissuesServices team since 1997.

An important part of his job is toco-ordinate the whole process oftissue donation. As you wouldexpect, it’s an emotionally challeng-ing job that has to be carried outaccording to set procedures andwithin 24 hours of a donor’s death.

But the work, although sochallenging, is immensely rewarding.

Many benefitsSays Anthony, "Tissue donationcan benefit people in so manydifferent ways, from saving theirsight to providing a vital valve fortheir heart to work properly. Everytime I co-ordinate a donation, Iknow that the family and I haveworked together to help someoneelse and that gives me a really goodfeeling."

Anthony’s first task today is torun a training session with thefamily liaison officers of CheshirePolice in Crewe. He’s also on call -which can mean droppingeverything at a moment’s notice.

"It’s vital to develop a relationship

with key personnel such asCoroner’s Officers and the police,"he says. "They are often the peopleto tell a family that a relative hasdied. They will stay with them andoffer support. So they are theappropriate people to broach thesubject of tissue donation. Traininggives these people the confidence

and the knowledge to discuss thisissue at a very difficult time."

Next Anthony heads off for aworking lunch with Sue Barbaro,Adult Bereavement ServicesManager at Manchester RoyalInfirmary. These meetings strength-en the relationship between thehospital and the NBS.

Tissue donation saves lives, and behind the scenes are a group of dedicated professionals. Anthony Clarkson, Lead Nurse of the NBS’s Tissue Services team based atLiverpool, describes a typical day in his life

Anthony makes time in his busyday for a working lunch with SueBarbaro from Manchester Infirmary

essence but we are always awarethat a family is grieving and usuallyin shock, but I do need to gain theirconsent for the process to goforward. I take a detailed medicalhistory, and confirm theirs and thedeceased’s personal information." Once Anthony has spoken to the

family, he sets about obtainingconsent from the coroner andorganising a specially trained teamfrom the NBS tissue bank inWrexham to go to the hospital. Thedonated tissues will be stored in thetissue bank at Wrexham. Theycould be used within weeks.

Final callAnthony heads home at 6pm,where he waits for a call from theteam to tell him all went well. At7.45pm he makes a final call to thefamily to let them know and leaveshis contact details with them.

Anthony writes a quick note inhis diary to organise a card for thefamily, contact the family GP andobtain the post-mortem reporttomorrow. Anthony’s day finishesat 8pm, just in time to bath his littlegirl Bethany and read her a story.

He’s back in the car by 2pm andarrives at the office in Liverpool fora team briefing. A night out isplanned for the team.

"Just a meal out together once ina while helps build the team andshare the load," says Anthony. "It isan intense job at times and we allneed an opportunity to supporteach other and have fun."

Talking to familiesAs Anthony sits down to catch upon his paperwork, his pager goesoff – which puts the filing on hold.

It’s Bolton Hospital A&Edepartment. A family has askedabout tissue donation after arelative died following a heartattack. Anthony heads off to talk tothe bereaved family.

"I will need to record personaldetails about the potential donorfrom the A&E nurse. Time is of the

● Up to 40 people can benefit from tissue donated from a singledonor: corneas restore sight, skin can treat severe burns, heartvalves replace damaged ones, tendons and bone can correctmobility problems

● 1000 referrals a year are made to NBS Tissue Services● The NBS has been involved in tissue donation since the early 90s● Last year over 2,200 people had their sight restored by cornea

donations ● The oldest recorded cornea donor was 103 ● For further information look on www.blood.co.uk

Facts about tissue donation

Don’t forget the Helpline number 0845 7 711 711

RESEARCH

14 THE DONOR SPRING 2004

Scientists with rarity valueWhether they’re identifying rare blood groups,analysing fetal blood, or determining bloodgroups from DNA, scientists at the NationalBlood Service, International Blood GroupReferencing Laboratory (IBGRL) are amongstthe best in the world

NBS scientists in the IBGRLbased at SouthmeadHospital in Bristol, are

constantly looking for new waysto improve haematology medi-cine. Today, the laboratory is oneof the world’s leading internation-al blood research centres.

Established in 1946, thelaboratory was responsible forproducing blood group reagents,the materials used to determineblood groups. In 1953, 100 donorsfrom 18 centres around the countryformed the basis of the firstNational Rare Donor Panel. Thiswas set up to help people withmore complicated blood types tofind a matching donor.

International expertiseThat same year, the World HealthOrganisation recognised the workof the laboratory and designated itas a ‘centre for reference andresearch into blood grouping’.Today the laboratory continues toshare its expertise to improvestandards internationally, runningcourses regularly for people from allover the world.

One area of major internationalimportance is the red cell

serology laboratory. The team hereundertakes complex investigationsinto the presence of antibodies andantigens (proteins on the cells’surfaces) in an individual’s blood.With 4000 rare typing reagentsand 2000 rare red cells, thelaboratory can solve extremelycomplex blood grouping problems.Blood samples are sent forinvestigation from all over theworld.

Geoff Daniels, who leads theMolecular Diagnostics team, says,"Scientists at the laboratory havealso developed tests where a sampleof a person’s DNA can be tested todetermine their blood type." Thelaboratory investigates over 800referrals from approximately 25countries, worldwide each year.

The laboratory is also called uponby hospitals to diagnose diseases ofthe blood when the problem is too

complex for their own scientists tosolve. By looking at proteins on thered cell surface, scientists canidentify very rare inherited diseasessuch as elliptocytosis orspherocytosis, which causeabnormally shaped red cells.

Rare blood typesThe laboratory is responsible forcompiling information on raredonors for the International DonorPanel (IDP). About one person in1000 has a rare blood type, usuallyinherited. If the blood fortransfusion is not matched, themedical complications can beserious and sometimes fatal. Thepanel allows countries to shareinformation, to increase thechances of finding extremely rareblood donors.

These donors are identifiedthrough screening programmes at

centres around the world. The NBSTooting Centre in South Londonprovides more rare donors than anyother UK centre. Alan Gray, aSenior Biomedical Scientistworking at Tooting describes somerecent cases.

"In October 2003, a donor fromthe south east area with the rare'McLeod' group was called up atshort notice to donate for a patientin the USA. Just one donor in

500,000 has this type of blood, andwe have just two donors in thisarea, who are both well used!

"We were able to help a patientin Aberdeen recently who neededfour units of Vel negative blood.Only one person in 4000 has thisunusual type, but we managed toobtain three donations in two days,a great result!

"In December, we received arequest from Spain for blood for alady with digestive bleeding. Thetype of blood needed was found inone person in every 2500. We nowhave two donations 'on the shelf'and are awaiting instructions for itstransport."

To date, there are over 4000 raredonors listed on the IDP from 59centres in 25 countries and itcontinues to be a very well usedservice. The IDP really demonstratesthe international importance of our laboratory and how theinformation it holds and the work itdoes really does save lives.

Left: Geoff Daniels with KirstinFinning in the laboratory

The centre is also

called upon by

hospitals to diagnose

diseases of the blood

when the problem is

too complex for

their own scientists

to solve

You can find session details on BBC2 Ceefax page 465 SPRING 2004 THE DONOR 15

PRIZE CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Building for car (6)8 Repeat (7)9 Measuring device (5)10 Ran with long strides (5)11 Berkshire town (7)13 (See 18 Down)

Complete the crossword, then rearrange the letters in thehighlighted squares to make a word relating to the NBS. Sendthis word on a post card together with your name, addressand daytime phone number to Crossword Competition,

The Donor, NBS, West Derby Street, Liverpool L7 8TW. You could win a new ‘Amazing’ NBS sports umbrella. Answersand winners will be in the Summer issue of The Donor. All entries must be received by April 30th 2004.

NBS INFORMATION

Congratulations to Mrs SheilaKarran of Rochdale whocorrectly answered last issue’scrossword. The correct wordwas HAEMOGLOBIN

16 Prickly shrub (7)19 Group of interviewers (5)21 Instrument of violin family (5)22 Male domestic fowl (7)23 Notice about product for

sale (6)

DOWN1 Raise the spirits of (7)2 Regret (3)3 Third Greek letter (5)4 Statement of money owed (4)5 Salt and _____ (6)6 Case for needles (4)7 Aspirin is one (4)11 Firearm (5)12 Woman in religious order (3)13 Sailor (3)14 Prop up (7)15 Decorated (6)16 J.S. _____ , composer (4)17 Associate (4)18, (+13 Across) Action made

possible by donors (5,11)20 Bird up early (4)22 A cereal plant (3)

LAST ISSUE’S WINNER

If you have a general enquiry or need any information about givingblood, just call the 24 hour Donor Helpline on 0845 7 711 711and staff will 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 if you have moved house orchanged employers – we don't want to lose you!DON’T FORGET BBC2 Ceefax page 465 will give you details of blood donorsessions in your TV region over the next two days.

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

NORTH Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield. NORTH EAST Newcastle-upon-Tyne. NORTH WEST Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester. MIDLANDS Birmingham,Leicester, Nottingham, Oxford, Stoke-on-Trent. LONDON Edgware, Tooting,West End. SOUTH EAST Luton, Cambridge, Brentwood. SOUTH WEST Bristol,Gloucester, Plymouth, Southampton.

We always need new donors. So please, ifyou are not a donor, fill out the couponbelow, place it in an envelope and send it toNational Blood Service, FREEPOST, 75Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 7YB, or call0845 7 711 711 now to enrol as a 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 above.MO6

I would like to join the NHS Blood Donor Register as someonewho may be contacted and would be prepared to donateblood. I understand that the National Blood Service (NBS) or itspartners may phone, write or otherwise contact me with detailsof local donor sessions. I agree to the NBS holding my person-al details on their donor database and processing this infor-mation as necessary for the proper administration of the NBS.

Become a bone marrow donor call 0845 7 711 711

NEWS EXTRA

16 THE DONOR SPRING 2004

Survival shouldn’t be about luckWhen Jimaine Morris

saw an appeal forbone marrow donors,

he never thought that he wouldbe the one in need of a bone marrow transplant. But just days after watching the TV appealJimaine was diagnosed withleukaemia and a bone marrowtransplant became his only chanceof survival.

He says, "I didn’t know muchabout leukaemia except what I hadseen on an appeal by the AfroCaribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT)for more Afro Caribbean people tobecome bone marrow donors. Ihad considered donating myself.Then suddenly, I was the one inhospital with exactly the samedisease."

Jimaine, 22, from South EastLondon, had been ill for some time.It was only when he went tohospital and had blood tests that hefinally found out why. In April 1999he was admitted to Kings’ CollegeHospital with leukaemia.

Major treatmentJimaine underwent extensivechemotherapy and radiotherapy,and received numerous bloodtransfusions and up to two platelettransfusions a day. But he knewthat the only way he would fullyrecover would be with a bonemarrow transplant, to replace hisown damaged bone marrow thatcould no longer produce healthyblood cells.

Finding a match between a bonemarrow recipient and potentialdonor is extremely difficult – thereare so many different tissue types.In 30 per cent of cases matches arefound in family members, butJimaine was unlucky. He wouldhave to rely on a match from anunrelated donor on one of thebone marrow registers worldwide,such as the British Bone MarrowRegistry (BBMR).

"I felt like I was waiting to winthe lottery. The odds were stackedagainst me and my only chance ofrecovery was completely out of mycontrol. Knowing I could die in thisway was extremely difficult to deal

with," says Jimaine. Currently patients have a one in

50,000 chance of finding a bonemarrow match. Matches are morelikely to be found between peoplefrom the same ethnic background.But as 97.5% of donors on theBBMR are from a white, Caucasianbackground, it is even harder tofind a match if you are fromanother ethnic group.

Being positiveJimaine wanted to do somethingpositive. "With the help of ACLT

and my family, we went out on tothe streets to talk to people. Somany people had no idea whatbone marrow donation means - atwo hour procedure that mightcause the donor some discomfort,but ultimately can mean they savesomebody’s life."

Then, in September 2001, abone marrow match was found forJimaine through the AnthonyNolan Register. More than twoyears on, Jimaine is doing well, andpursuing a career in music.

"The bone marrow transplanthas given me another chance at lifeand I am very grateful for that.Now, I want to try and educatemore people to join the register. Iwas lucky, but it shouldn’t be aboutluck," says Jimaine.

The NBS is working with thecharity ACLT and other agencies toencourage more people fromminority ethnic groups to donateblood and bone marrow. However,bone marrow donors are alwaysneeded from every type of ethnicbackground.

The 2003/2004 campaign toenrol 40,000 new potential donorsis on course for success. During thenine months to the end ofDecember 2003 nearly 34,000people enrolled. People fromethnic minority communitiesaccounted for 1,148 of these.

The register is the fastestgrowing in the world, which is allgreat news. The more potentialdonors who enrol, the greater thechances of helping patients likeJimaine.

Joining the BBMR is easy. If youare 18 – 44, in general good health,and a blood donor, you just need tolet staff know that you would liketo join the BBMR before startingyour next donation. That’s all thereis to it!

A bone marrow transplant saved Jimaine Morris’s life after he wasdiagnosed with leukaemia. Now he wants to encourage more peoplefrom ethnic communities to enrol as potential bone marrow donors

Back on track: Jimaine’s bonemarrow transplant saved his life

For more information about theAfro Caribbean Leukaemia Trust(ACLT) contact 020 8667 1122 orvisit www.aclt.org

The bone marrow

transplant has

given me another

chance at life

and I am very

grateful for that