the donor - summer 2006

NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR BLOOD DONORS SUMMER 2006NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR BLOOD DONORS SUMMER 2006

STEM CELLSLITTLE

MIRACLE-WORKERS

The gift of timeHow blood can give patientsthat precious extra time

The gift of timeHow blood can give patientsthat precious extra time

PLUS F NEWS F LETTERS F AND… MUCH MORE

WILL CARLING TALKS“It is just so vital to give blood”WILL CARLING TALKS“It is just so vital to give blood”

4 “It is just so vital to give blood”Will Carling talks about life after international rugby stardom, and whyhe’s in our latest Give Blood campaign

6 News Update The latest news from around the country

9 A tale of two halvesWhy sisters Louise and Ruth got a surprise after their first donation

10 A bit of a rarityWhat happens when a patient with a rare blood group needs a transfusion

12 The gift of timeBlood products can give precious extra time for the terminally ill

14 Taming riskWe’re always working hard with other health professionals to makeblood donation and transfusion as low-risk as possible

16 Stem cells – little miracle workersHow these special cells are helping save lives

20 Over to youCatch up with readers’ letters, plus health Q&As

21 Spreading the wordGraham Yip is a Merseyside Police Superintendent – and a dedicated platelet donor.

23 Tissue banking – Looking to the futureTissue banking is a fast-growing part of our work. We go behind the scenes at our new Liverpool centre

26 A captain’s inspirationThe story of brave six-year-old Connor Shaw

28 Making the most of a valuableresourceMeet transfusion practitioner Tony Davies (right)

30 Ask The DoctorMoji Gesinde answers your questions aboutplatelet donation

31 CrosswordAnother challenge for you

32 NBS Information

3SUMMER 2006 THE DONOR

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In this issueIn this issue

The price of producing, printing and posting each copy of this magazine is less than the price of a first class stamp.The Donor is published by the National Blood Service (NBS) which is part of NHS Blood and Transplant. Reproduction in whole or part isstrictly forbidden without the prior permission of the NBS. Larger print versions are available via the website. Design and production -Ant Creative (London). Reproduction: Portland Media (London). Printed by Apple Web Offset on 100% recycled paper.

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WRITE AND TELL USyour news, viewsand interesting

or unusual donor stories.

Write to Penny Richardson,

Editor,The Donor, NBS,

Colindale Avenue,London NW9 5BG

or email [email protected]

4 THE DONOR SUMMER 2006 5SUMMER 2006 THE DONOR

hospitality and events forcompanies and their clients. It hasgrown phenomenally in the lastfour years, and stemmed from agreat idea that my wife Lisa had,which obviously will come as nosurprise to anyone!What do you enjoy best aboutyour new career?I love the fact that it is our companyand we decide how, when, whereand on what we work! I lovearranging events for clients thatthey really enjoy and we get a realbuzz from the feedback. I alsoenjoy the fact that we have builtthe company up from nothing,and we are very proud of that.How do you balance yourcareer with being a dad? We have five children, Tom, Tali,

“It is just so vitalto give blood”“It is just so vitalto give blood”

LIFE STORYLIFE STORYl Born on 12th December 1965 inBradford-on-Avonl 1984, captain of EnglandSchoolboys rugby teaml 1986-89, represents DurhamUniversity and Durham Countyl Aged 22 becomes youngest evercaptain of England rugby teaml During his career has 66 caps forEngland, 59 as captainl 1991 receives an OBE and is voted ITV Sports Personality of the Year

l 1997 retires from rugby to concentrate on business interests l

World-class rugby made Will Carling famous.Now he’s back on TV in our Give Blood campaign.Here, he talks about how he became involved

Henry, Jack and Mimi, rangingfrom 18 to three, so we have thefull range of hormones! They arejust brilliant, all of them, and theyjust make you laugh. Mimiterrorises Jack, and is already in

Are you a blood donor? I was, but because I lived abroadwhen I was younger I’ve beenasked not to give at the moment.They did say I may be able todonate in future. I’m still hoping to!How did you find donating? I hate needles with a passion so Iwas not too keen about giving

COVER STORY

blood. I was amazed how easy itwas the first time I did it, and Ienjoyed the cup of sweet tea after!Can you tell us about yourinvolvement with our GiveBlood adverts? I have always thought blooddonation was a great cause, andwhen my mother had cancer for

the last time, I rememberthe nurses telling meabout the blood trans-fusions that she’d had.One of my strongestmemories of my motherwas sitting with her, onmy own in her hospitalroom, minutes after shehad died, and I looked ather arms, which werecovered in bruises andneedle marks from allthe transfusions anddrugs. At first Iremember thinking,what have they done toyou? And then I realisedthat what they had

done was given her a chance, achance to see Mimi, her youngest

grandchild, and for that I willalways be grateful. So when I was asked do the adverts I wasdelighted to take part.As a psychology graduate, do you have any ideas aboutwhy only five per cent of the eligible UK populationdonate blood? I don’t think many people realisehow constant the need forblood is, and secondly, I think it is only when peopleneed blood through anaccident or illness, orsomeone close to themneeds it, that they realisehow crucial it is. I’m sure thatif more people knew thefacts, more people woulddecide to give blood.What would you say tosomeone who’s scaredof needles to encouragethem to give blood?Just look away and after the needle goes in you feel nothing. It is just soimportant to give blood. When you retired fromrugby you started yourcompany, Will CarlingManagement.What sortof business is it? We are involved in arranging

On the pitch – Will’s glory dayswith the England rugby team

charge of the teenagers. Theeldest are worshipped by theyounger ones, and all in all we arevery lucky to have the time towitness and enjoy it. There is nodoubt that I have turned downmany opportunities because itwould mean being away fromhome for too long, and I am justnot willing to do that.If you could change anythingin the world, what would it be?Wow! Just a small question! I would try and educate children allover the world, especially in theThird World. I believe that througheducation they have a chance tomake choices in their lives, andhave the choice of what to believeand what not to believe. So manyproblems in the world stem from ignorance, fear and misin-formation. It is brilliant to feed,treat, and love these children, butsomehow it would be lovely to gothat stage further and give themthe opportunity to change theirlives, their situation, and I believethat can only come about throughgiving them education.l

Will picturedmaking our TVcommercial

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Changes to the Donor HealthCheck (DHC) should mean less

testing and shorter waiting timesfor some donors. The new forms,which will start arriving throughletter boxes from August onwards,are designed to be compatiblewith changes to our computer sys-tem. Don’t worry though, the ques-tions and format remain the same.

The official switch to the newforms will happen sometime inSeptember. Sorry, we can’t acceptthe new DHC before then. Similarly,if you take an old-style DHC to asession after September, you willhave to fill in the new form. l

DHC changes

6 THE DONOR SUMMER 2006

News Update • News Update • News Update • News Update • News Update • News Update • News Update •

Celebration and thanks were the messagesfor this year’s World Blood Donor Day

(WBDD). Held every year on the 14th June byblood services around the globe, this specialday is dedicated to thanking the millions ofvoluntary blood donors who give ‘the gift oflife’. The date commemorates the birthday ofKarl Landsteiner who discovered the ABOblood group system.

We said a huge thank you to all of our fantastic donors and of course encouraged people from all ethnic backgrounds to find outif they’re eligible to give blood.

Various events were held on the day acrossthe country, including ‘thank you’ cakes at our tea tables; a ‘thank you’ balloon launch in

Portsmouth; a recruitment challenge inSwindon where a giant blood drop was created out of pint glasses; and even a blooddonors vs recipients football tournament inBirmingham.

We can’t wait for next year’s celebrations! l

World Blood Donor Day 2006

HRHthe Duke of Gloucester, accompanied by the Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside Alan Waterworth, was in

Liverpool on Monday 10 April to officially open the new NHSBlood and Transplant centre at Speke.

The new centre is the base for blood collection and suppliesblood, blood components and related services to hospitalsthroughout the region. It also provides a base for the largest tissue bank in Europe, collecting and storing tissues such as skin,bone and muscles to supply hospitals across the UK.

The Royal party, escorted by NHSBT Chairman Bill Fullagar,toured the centre and met many of the staff who work there. HisRoyal Highness unveiled a plaque to mark the opening. l

We recently teamed up with Lancashire County Cricket Clubin a new community partnership.The two-year campaign

is aimed at encouraging cricket fans to save lives in the NorthWest by signing up as blood donors.

The campaign follows a successful initiative last year withYorkshire County Cricket Club,which was particularly effective intargeting diverse ethnic communities.With the campaignsrunning simultaneously,the clubs’legendary rivalry should helpensure that the competition to sign up blood donors is nearly asfierce as the battles on the cricket pitch! l


Donors who have visited Canadaand the USA may know they are

at risk of contracting West Nile Virus(WNV). Unfortunately we are not ableto test for the virus at the moment, sowe are asking donors who havestayed there between 1 May and 30November 2006 to wait 28 days aftertheir return before going to a sessionto donate blood.

The date for the risk period for WNVin the USA and Canada was broughtforward this year to 1 May, as themosquito season starts earlier. Thisdate may change again in the futuredepending on the advice we are given,but we will keep you updated. l

Testing updateOur Test Assessment Facility(TAF) in Manchester ismaking good progress inevaluating new tests todetect vCJD in donated blood(The Donor, Winter 2005).We’d like to say a big thankyou to donors who havehelped the evaluation byagreeing to their donationsbeing tested. You havehelped make the project a big success.

We’re still collectingsamples, and the TAF teamhas just completed a tour ofthe country and will startanother soon, including avisit to Scotland.l

Travelling to Canada or the United States

West Nile VirusHave you been to or plan to go to CANADA or

the UNITED STATES this Summer?If yes, please read this leaflet, as it might affect you giving blood.

We like to put donor comfortfirst, so if you grit your teeth

when the needle goes in, read on. We’re studying techniques to make

this as comfortable as possible. Heatpads, cold packs and local anaestheticcream are all being investigated.We’re also looking into technologiesthat can make local anaestheticcreams act more quickly – whichmeans reducing the time you have towait between the cream going onand the needle going in.

Aromatherapy anyone? We’veperformed trials with various oils andare satisfied they do improve yourdonation experience. So watch outfor those scents of chamomile,Roman chamomile or lavender in theair at your next session - you shouldfeel pleasantly calm and relaxed asyou lie back and donate! l

Who donates, wins Smells good! Royal openingRoyal opening

West Nile Virus update

Our staff in Swindon encourage peopleto sign up to their WBDD Challenge torecruit 170 new donors.


We are sad to report thedeath of Brian Daley, akaDJ Swing (see ‘The Donor’Winter 2005). Brian was diagnosed with multiplemyeloma, a form ofleukaemia, and receivedmany blood and platelettransfusions. During his ill-ness MOBO award winnerBrian had campaigned tire-lessly to encourage peoplefrom ethnic backgroundsto sign up as blood andbone marrow donors.

Seven members of theHorsham blood collectionteam donned decoratedbras and tutus to take partin the annual PlaytexMoonwalk on Saturday 20May. It was to raise aware-ness and money for breastcancer research. The teamraised a grand total of£3,300. They are looking todo a repeat performancenext year!

Blood stocks always dropduring the summer, soplease help us to keepthem healthy by donatingbefore you go on holiday.

National Transplant Week is9 to 15 July. It’s aim is toraise awareness of organdonation and transplanta-tion. You can join the NHS Organ Donor Register by telephoning the Organ Donor Line on 0845 60 60 400 or visitwww.uktransplant.org.uk l

In brief....

News Update • News Update • News Update • News Up

Anyone who has never visiteda donor session but is curious

to learn what goes on, has nowgot the chance to find out exactlywhat giving blood involves – without even leaving their desk.

If you visit our website atwww.blood.co.uk, it now boasts a‘virtual tour’ of a donor session.

The donation experience goes virtual

More chocolate on session! That’s what donors told us theywanted during our review of customer services at blood

donor sessions. We also picked up that many of you would likehealthy options such as more sugar-free snacks and fruit, and forthose with food allergies and intolerances, a choice of gluten-free and wheat-free snacks.

The review looked at the clinical and nutritional benefits of thefood too, since our snacks are aimed at replacing some of the ironand fluid lost during donation.

So start looking out for a wider variety of foods on the tea tableafter your next donation. l

Better snack choice

The tour explains what happens ata session and guides potentialdonors through each stage of thedonation process.

So if you know anyone who has thought about being a blooddonor but hasn’t signed up so far, why not direct them to the virtual tour. l


A tale of two halves!Twins Louise and Ruth Eyres, 19, had always been told they were non-identical – even though they look soalike. “Mum told us that at birth our placentas were fused, making it unlikely we were identical,” says Louise.Two years ago the twins gave blood for the first time. “A friend who regularly donates blood asked if we wouldlike to go with her after school,” says Louise. “We knew how important it was to give blood so the three of uswent together.” Ruth says, “When we received our blood donor cards a couple of weeks later we found outthat we were both blood type O negative. I study medicine and as our parents have A group blood I knew itwas pretty unlikely that we weren’t identical.” A simple DNA test confirmed they were indeed identical.

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Future of blood technology?New antigens are still beingdiscovered at the rate of aboutone a year – in fact, 29 differentblood group systems have beenrecognised to date. DNAtechnology can already be used totype an unborn baby’s blood usinga blood sample from the mother,and also to type the blood cells

Washing blood!A few unlucky patients reactbadly to a transfusion even whenexactly the right type of blood isused. The problem is not thatthey have a rare blood group,but that their body is objecting tothe plasma which clings aroundthe donated red cells.

In future, these patients willneed to receive red cells thathave been washed free ofresidual plasma. To do this,donated red cells are mixed withsaline solution then spun in acentrifuge. The process isrepeated, and finally salinesolution is added to re-suspendthem ready for use.

When anyone is found to havean unusual blood make-up, weissue them with a blood groupcard to carry around and thedetails are also entered into anational database.

Removing white cellsFor patients with low immunityand babies in the womb whoneed a transfusion, blood mayneed to be irradiated – treatedwith a radioactive compound. When white blood cells areretained in blood donations,these cells could settle in thetissues of patients with immunityproblems, then reproduce andattack the patient’s own cells, acondition known as Graft VersusHost Disease.

However, since 1999 whiteblood cells have been routinelyremoved from every donation, soirradiation is just an addedprecaution to stop any remainingwhite cells from replicating.

Blood groups are determined by the presence or absence of antigens(a kind of protein) on the surface of the red blood cells. There can beup to 600 different antigens on a cell surface, and it’s thecombination of these which makes everyone’s blood different, evenwithin the same blood group. Only identical twins (see page 9) shareexactly the same antigens on their cells.

If someone is given blood with an antigen they don’t already haveon their red cells, then their body may produce an antibody to it. Ifthey need a further transfusion and this contains that same ‘foreign’antigen, the antibodies now present in the patient’s blood couldattack the new cells, causing a transfusion reaction. Using cross-matched blood avoids these potentially dangerous reactions.

WHAT’S MY TYPE? WHAT’S MY TYPE?

Some patients can’t be given blood ‘off-the-shelf’.They need something rather special,

but just how do we go about supplying it?

BLOOD FACTS

Most of us think of ablood transfusionas a safe, routine

procedure. But go back a couple of hundred years and itwas anything but. The firstrecorded successful transfusionwas dog to dog in 1665, whichencouraged doctors to experi-ment on humans – often withdire results. As well as humanblood, lamb and calf blood,saline and even milk were used!

Happily, Dr Karl Landsteinerdiscovered the ABO and Rhblood group systems, paving theway for safe transfusions usingcompatible blood.

Today when a patient needsblood the first thing to establishis their blood group. A bloodsample is taken to be tested bythe hospital’s pathologylaboratory using a ‘group andscreen’ process. The ABO and Rhtype are quickly established (the‘group’ part of the process) whilethe ‘screen’ part looks forantibodies in the patient’s blood.The whole process takes about30 minutes. The hospital canthen usually find the correct typewithin its blood bank, or contactus with a specific order.

Finding a rare matchOccasionally a patient’s bloodcontains unusual antibodies orcomplex combinations ofcommon ones. This is when

A bit of a rarityA bit of a rarity


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produced by a patient who hasreceived multiple transfusions.

So whichever rare blood groupsmay turn up in the future, we havethe technology and expertise todeal with them. l

hospitals call on the specialisthelp of one of our Red CellImmunohaematologydepartments to begin theprocess of finding the right bloodfor the patient. The lab specialistsrun tests to pinpoint exactlywhat type of rare blood is needed in order to find amatched donor. The tests resultin either a positive or a negativereaction to reveal whichantibodies are present in thepatient’s plasma. The plasma isthen tested against the donor’sred cells – this is cross-matching.

Stocks of rare blood arenaturally quite small: there may

be just a few units of the raresttypes in the country at any onetime. When a certain type isneeded, the inventory of existingstocks across the country can besifted through by computer.

If the required type isn’t instock, and there’s time, the nextmove could be to search our raredonor panel for someone withthe right blood type and askthem to donate.

For urgent cases, the searchswitches immediately to theNational Frozen Blood Bank inLiverpool. Here units of very rareblood can be frozen for up to 10years ready for emergencies.

A 17th century artwork of apatient during a blood trans-fusion.These were often fatal forthe patient due to a lack ofknowledge about blood itself


The gift of timeThe gift of timeWhen a stem cell transplant failed to cureher life-threatening blood disease, GemmaPinnegar was determined to carry onenjoying her life. And with the help of bloodproducts she is making the most of every day

PATIENT STORY

November my consultantrang to tell me I was in remission. I still had to go to hospital every weekto be monitored, but as far as I was concerned itwas the best news we could have got in the run-up to Christmas.

“We had a fantasticfamily Christmas and obviouslywe all hoped 2006 would bemuch happier than 2005.”

But just a few days into the NewYear, the family receiveddevastating news. The leukaemiahad returned and Gemma was toldshe may only have months to live.

“My initial reaction was to

and colds, and was also gettingvery tired. l was working full time,but increasingly I could hardlymanage a day’s work,“she says.

Blood and bone marrowsamples showed Gemma hadALL, which meant she facedmonths of intensive treatment,including a stem cell transplant.

Says Gemma, “Luckily mybrother was found to be a matchso I was put on chemotherapyready for the transplant. I lefthospital but had to go back in –I’d caught pneumonia. This timeof my life was the hardest. I wasso poorly and felt so down. Atone point I felt like giving up thetreatment, but my family spurredme on to keep going.

“Eventually I recovered and byAugust 2005 I was well enoughto have the transplant. I sat there,wide awake with my family as wewatched the stem cells beinggiven to me through a HickmanLine (a tube that goes into thechest and directly into one of themajor blood vessels). After allthat build up, we all just thought,‘Is that it?’

“By October I was strongenough to go home, and in

blame someone.” says Gemma.“After I was told I was inremission I’d started planning myfuture. I thought I’d finally get thehorse I’d always wanted, andthen later, have a family of myown. For that suddenly to betaken away made me so angry.”

Gemma is determined not towaste a moment of her life now,and has started campaigning formore blood donors through herlocal paper. “I have relied onthem, I’ve had more than 20units of blood and over 15 packsof platelets.”

Gemma is keeping optimistic.“I’m doing really well andenjoying my life. My visits tohospital have now gone down tomonthly ones, which leaves moretime to enjoy myself – next on mylist is a family trip to Devon.” l

What do most 21-year-olds dream ofdoing? Traveling,

parties, great times with friendsand family. Gemma Pinnegar isno different – except she has noidea how much time she has left

energy to achieve many of herdreams and goals.

“I’ve been horse-riding andjust got back from Vienna -there’s no way I could have donethat without blood. A month agoI had two blood transfusions. Iwas anaemic, yet soon after I feltgreat. These transfusions reallyhelp me to get on with life.”

Gemma’s was diagnosed withALL a year ago. “I started tobecome poorly. I got mumps andwas constantly battling coughs

Gemma, a keen supporter of the Welsh rugby team,looks to the future through her telescope.Opposite, withher mum and dad

“I’ve been horse-riding and just gotback from Vienna...

…A month ago I had two blood

transfusions whichhelp me to get on

with life.”

to enjoy the things she loves.Gemma, 21, has a form

of leukaemia called AcuteLymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).She’s facing an uncertain future,but with the help of regularblood transfusions she’s got the

What is AcuteLymphoblasticLeukaemia (ALL)?l ALL is a blood disorder in whichthe white cells, lymphocytes, growand divide in the bone marrow tooquickly.l Because these cells don’tmature like normal white cells dothey can’t protect the patient frominfection.l The cells also overproduce,filling up the bone marrow sothere is no space for red cells andplatelets.The patient can becomeseverely anaemic and prone tobruising and bleeding.l The condition is rare – 600adults are diagnosed with ALL inthe UK each year. It occurs morefrequently in children under 15.

in to eliminate the one in a millionchance of patients catching a newinfection. However, the new rulehas excluded so many donors thathospitals have run out of blood.

It’s too late to argue that you’drather take the one in a millionchance of acquiring an infection,than the 100 per cent chance ofdying because there is no blood!

This hypothetical exampledemonstrates how every safetyrule change introduced mustbalance patient and donor safetywith the need to maintain blood


Blood donations and transfusions are carried outsafely thousands of times a day across the

country. But that’s not down to luck;we work tirelessly to minimise risks to both

donors and patients.

BLOOD SAFETY

Taming riskTaming riskEvery day, every one of us

faces risk. Whether it’sdriving a car, boiling a

kettle, or even eating there’s achance, however remote, thatsomething bad will happen. Butbalancing benefits against risk ispart of everyday life.

It’s no different with blood –whether receiving it or donatingit. Although extremely safe, theseprocedures do have potentialrisks. So we are constantlyassessing and managing theserisks, balancing them with thebenefits to patients and donors.

Safety doesn’t begin and endat our blood centres though:hospitals, patients and donorshave a role to play as well.

Reducing donor risk Clearly, donors need to be fit andwell so they can donate with noill effects for themselves orothers. The Donor Health Check(DHC) is designed to helps usspot potential problems fordonor and patient. Togetherwith the medical screening wecarry out at every session, we canassess if it’s safe for someone todonate that day.

Overall, one in seven peopleare unable to donate at a sessionthey attend. This is disappointingfor the individual, but we do it forvery good reasons. Perhaps they

are on medication that couldmake them faint after givingblood. Or the finger prick testshows their haemoglobin levelsare too low, and they riskanaemia by donating.

Occasionally, a donor maysuffer a delayed faint after givingblood, which is why we askpeople such as pilots, train drivers,

scaffolders and those doing heavylifting, as well as those who do energetic sports to avoid theseactivities after giving blood.

Reducing patient risk The DHC is our first line ofdefence. That’s why it’s crucialthat you read this each time as ifit’s the first time you’ve seen it,

because our safety rules or yourpersonal circumstances mayhave changed.

Our next line of defence isensuring our staff follow bestpractice guidelines on thingssuch as arm cleaning. And ofcourse, back in our labs we testevery donation to pick up anydangerous infections.

Testing to cut risk Our scientists check everydonation for a number of differentinfections. Very occasionally the tests fail to detect one that ispresent, especially if it’s veryrecent. The blood may beinfectious to a patient, but ourtests could not find the infection(it’s called the window period). That’s why the DHC questions areso vital – to help us spot the risk.

Thanks to these questions,processes and tests, the main riskfrom a blood transfusion is not aninfection but being given blood ofthe wrong blood group. Hospitalstaff have been working hard tominimise this small risk, and aretrained to make carefulidentification checks beforegiving a transfusion to a patient.

Safety versus sufficiencyNothing stays the same in theoutside world, and the samegoes for transfusion medicine.New risks appear, and we have torespond, but in a balanced way.

Imagine this for a moment –you’ve had an accident and arebleeding badly, you need blood tosave your life. The doctor tells you,sorry, there’s no blood, because ofa new safety rule. It was brought

stocks. Recently we askeddonors who had themselvesreceived, or thought they hadreceived, a blood transfusionafter 1980, not to donate inorder to minimise the possiblerisk of vCJD being passed fromdonor to patient. We had tocalculate what the effect oflosing these donations wouldhave on stocks. We needed to besure that patients wouldn’tsuffer a more immediate harm –a shortage of blood.

When we can, we try to useblanket rules. The DHCquestions are designed to covera broad range of behavioursbecause experience shows thathaving general, blanket ruleswhich give donors a green or redlight according to how theyanswer, is the best way to reducerisk to patients. This is the ‘just tobe on the safe side’ approach.

Finally, if recent guidelinesmean that some of our donorsare no longer able to give blood,we hope you understand why. Your safety and the safetyof patients is enormouslyimportant. We’d rather not riskeither of you. l

Receiving a blood transfusion, like any medical procedure, carriescertain risks. But these are very small compared with other dangersyou could face every day:

l a fall in the home – 1 in 60

l burning or scalding in the home – 1 in 610

l fatal injury in a car accident – 1 in 17,000

l catching HIV from a blood transfusion – 1 in 4.5 million

What are the chances?What are the chances?


The main risk from a

blood transfusion is

not an infection but

being given blood of

the wrong blood group.

Hospital staff have

been working hard

to minimise

this small risk

17SUMMER 2006 THE DONOR 16 THE DONOR SUMMER 2006

STEM CELLS

Stem cellslittle miracle-workersStem cellslittle miracle-workers Imagine something that can

treat or even cure peoplewith life-threatening blood

disorders like leukaemia andaplastic anaemia, or terribledegenerative diseases such asmultiple sclerosis. Stem cellshave the potential to do all ofthese amazing things – hardlysurprising they hit the headlinesso often.

But why are they so special?Stem cells are basically cells thathaven’t decided yet what jobthey’re going to do in the body.They can become all kinds of cellsincluding nerve, muscle, blood,bone and skin. Every single cell inthe body ̀ stems’ from this type ofcell – hence the name.

The significance of this is huge.Although not every kind of stemcell is useful as a treatment yet,certain kinds certainly are. Whenstem cells are given to a patient,

they literally take over the job ofthe diseased cells. If all goes well,the healthy cells make them-selves at home, start replicating

and, in time, thepatient recovers.

Different types ofstem cellThere are two maintypes of stem cell –Embryonic and Adult.Embryonic stem cellsare created duringthe very early stages

of a developing fertilised egg.Research using these cells(including cloning) has createdmany ethical debates.

The other type, Adult stemcells, are found in every adult andchild and are responsible formaking all the different tissuesfound in the body, includingbone, skin, muscle, nerve andblood. It’s stem cells responsible

for making blood that we areconcerned with. These cells,provided by donors, are vital in treating life-threatening blood diseases such as leukaemiaand beta thalassaemia major. We help to collect, test and store these blood stem cells, aswell as recruiting and matchingpotential stem cell donors.

Where do stem cells come from?But where do we find blood stemcells? There are three sources:bone marrow, circulating bloodand cord blood.

When we talk about a bonemarrow transplant we are reallytalking about a stem celltransplant involving donatedbone marrow. That’s becausebone marrow contains the bloodstem cells that produce the

These special cells can help patients beat many serious illnesses. But what is it about stem cells

that gives them their life-saving power?

Stem cells are basically cells thathaven’t decided yet what job they’regoing to do in the body.They can

become all kinds of cells includingnerve,muscle,blood,bone and skin

Pseudocolouredelectron micrographof stem cells.Cordblood and bonemarrow stem cellsare used to generateblood and bloodvessel cells in thelaboratory

The deep freeze stem cellsection at our Edgware centre

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19SUMMER 2006 THE DONOR 18 THE DONOR SUMMER 2006

white cells, red cells and platelets.

Blood donors who havejoined the British BoneMarrow Registry (BBMR)may be identified as amatch for a patient whoneeds a bone marrowtransplant to survive. Insuch a case, bone marrowwill be taken from thedonor under generalanaesthetic.

Circulating blood alsocontains stem cells.Donors on the BBMR candonate these through asimpler process called aperipheral stem cell transplant.Before the transplant, the level ofcirculating stem cells can beboosted by giving the donor aspecial drug.

On the day of the donation,doctors test to check if the donorhas enough circulating stem cells

to contain viral infections. Secondly, it’s easier to find a

match because these stem cellsdon’t require the same stringentmatching with the patient as dostem cells found in bone marrowand circulating blood. This isgood news for patients fromethnic minority backgrounds,who often have a much hardertime finding a suitable donor.

Thirdly, cord blood is readilyavailable as an ‘off the shelf’product and, once banked, canbe provided within days,sometimes 24 hours if necessary.By contrast, finding a matchedbone marrow donor andarranging a donation is a processthat can take weeks.

Finally, cord blood poses norisk to mother or baby, whereasbone marrow stem cell donorsmay experience some milddiscomfort after their donation.

patient’s doctor will opt for thebest possible match available.With cord blood, which doesn’trequire such a close tissue match,the doctor will also look at thenumber of cells the donationcontains - in other words, how

`rich’ it is. The patient tends tohave a better outcome the richerthe donation.

So the future for blood stemcell transplants looks bright, andwith the help and generosity ofdonors, even more patients canbe given the gift of life. l

Bone marrow transplants dohave some advantages over cordblood. Bone marrow usuallyprovides more stem cells andthese tend to be accepted in thepatient’s body more quickly thancord blood cells. Also, because it

comes in small amounts, cordblood has been used mainly inchildren. But with advances instem cell research, there aregrowing numbers of successfultransplants in adults.

Who decides what kind oftransplant to use? Generally, the

We recruit people for the British Bone Marrow

Registry from our existing blood donors. We’d like

to thank all of you who’ve signed up so far. But we

still need more donors from ethnic minority

backgrounds. Worldwide, patients from Asian, Black

or African-Caribbean backgrounds are much less

likely to find a matched donor. If you’d like more

information or are interested in becoming a donor,

please talk to staff at your next blood donor

session, phone the Donor Helpline on

0845 7 711 711 or visit www.blood.co.uk

Currently you can only donate cord blood if you

are having your baby in one of the hospitals where

we have dedicated trained staff. These are Barnet

General Hospital, Northwick Park, and Luton and

Dunstable Hospital.

For more information please contact the NHS Cord

Blood Bank on 020 8437 1740 or email

[email protected] note: we are not involved in private cord

banking, which is where parents pay to bank and

store their child’s cord blood for family use only.

Stem cell donors – sign up now!Stem cell donors – sign up now!

Cord blood beingprocessed inpreparation forfreezing and storage

to go ahead. If all’s well, the donoris hooked up to a cell separatormachine (similar to machinesused for platelet donors) and thestem cells are collected while therest of the donor’s blood isreturned to them.

The third source of blood stemcells is cord blood – the blood

that remains in theplacenta and umbilicalcord after the birth of a baby. Normally it’s discarded, but at afew hospitals pregnantwomen are offered thechance to donate cordblood as part of theirbirth plan, and in doingso extend the gift of lifeto others (see box).

Pros and cons These three sources of bloodstem cells each have their prosand cons. Cord blood is less likelyto trigger a harmful reaction inthe patient because the cellshaven’t been exposed to theenvironment and so are less likely

The future for blood stem celltransplants looks bright,and with the help and generosity of donors,

even more patients can be given the gift of life

Small cell,big job.Amicrograph scan of astem cell sitting in theeye of a needle

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OVER TO YOU

This is your chance to tell us your news, views and interesting or unusual donor stories. Write to Penny Richardson, Editor, The Donor, NBS ColindaleAvenue, London NW9 5BG or email [email protected]

EVERY DROP COUNTSI'm a regular blood donor, and last year my daughter was born ten

weeks early weighing just 2lbs 11oz. Millie needed a lot of help and support in hospital,including a blood transfusion. It made a hugedifference to her. She went from being pale andlistless to pink and perky before my eyes during

the four hour transfusion.What a difference a small amount of blood(5mls) can make! We’re looking forward to herfirst birthday next week.JULIE CAMPBELL, CARLISLE

EDITOR’S RESPONSE: Happy birthday, Millie! We’reso pleased everything turned out well for you.

HHHHHHHHHHHHSTAR LETTERHHHHHHHHHHHH

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Invitations by email?You say that the cost of sendingout invitation letters to donors isgreater than the cost of sendingThe Donor magazine. I wonderif you could reduce your costs by emailing invitation letters towilling donors.I’d be happy to receive the letterby email, with the other detailsand the form included as anattachment which could beprinted out, filled in and takenalong to the session.ANDREW MCCALLUM BY EMAIL

EDITOR’S RESPONSE: This is a really good idea which wehave been looking into forsome time. But there are anumber of technical issues weneed to overcome before wecan offer this service. Look outfor more news in future issuesof The Donor.

DNA detection?I’m a regular donor and havenow donated 45 times.Recently I have started wondering about DNA. Wehear lots of news stories aboutcrimes being successfully solvedusing DNA analysis. What I want to know is, whensomeone receives my blood, dothey have traces of my DNA andif so for how long?As we could all be on nationaldatabases in the not too distantfuture, it would be good to

have some reassurances. GILLIAN PERRY BY EMAIL

EDITOR’S RESPONSE: Neither redblood cells nor platelets havenuclei, so they will have noDNA.There is a possibility thattransfused blood will contain some white bloodcells but these cells die withina few weeks of the transfusion.

Simon’s gift of sightThank you for the article aboutTrish and her corneal graft. My nephew, Simon, a radiogra-pher, died at the end of 2004 atthe age of 38. He’d alwayswanted to donate his organs,but most were damaged by cancer and chemotherapy andnot suitable for donation. But hewas able to donate his corneas. It’s good to know that someonehas benefited from his donationand it gave me the push to

A STAR LETTER ischosen for every issue.The winner will beinvited to a behind-the-scenes tour of a BloodCentre. He or she willdon a white coat andsee what happens to adonation of blood.

Julie Campbell and...

… daughter Millie

Spreading the wordGraham Yip, 46, works as a Superintendent for Merseyside Police.He started giving blood as a student 25 years ago and recentlystarted giving platelets. He says, “I’d always been curious about thepeople I saw connected up to machines when I went to give blood,so when I got a letter asking if I’d become a platelet donor I wasimmediately interested. I went along to give a sample, and I’vebeen giving platelets for a few months now. I strongly believeeveryone should give blood if they can, probably because I’ve seenmany situations though work where people have needed it.I always try and persuade people to become donors– it’s mysoapbox! I’m one of six brothers and most of us give blood, but inthe wider Chinese community I don’t think there is a great deal ofawareness about it. Hopefully my spreading the word helps a little.My son turns 17 in September and he’s planning to make his firstdonation, so that’s one result!”l

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

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OVER TO YOU

IS IT TRUE THAT...

ensure that my name was addedto the organ donor register.LESLEY CAUSTON, EAST BARNET

EDITOR’S RESPONSE: Thank you forsharing this. Most people, afterdeath,would be able to donatecorneas and, like Simon, givesomeone the gift of sight.To join the Organ DonorRegister call 0845 60 60 400.

More frequent donationGiven that the standard dona-tion volume is 470ml, regardlessof whether you weigh the mini-mum 50kg or much more,would it be possible for largerdonors to give blood more fre-quently then three times a year? T J NELSON, SHEFFIELD

EDITOR’S RESPONSE: This is ablanket rule for the safety ofour donors to reduce the riskof making someone anaemic.

Well read!Thank you for another informa-tive and inspiring issue. Our localsurgery welcomes copies of TheDonor for the waiting room.TED STORKEY BY EMAIL

EDITOR’S RESPONSE: Thank you.Let's hope new readers areencouraged to become donors.

Quality timeMy donations tend to be veryslow (almost like getting bloodfrom a stone!), but I have foundthis is a great time to catch up

on uninterrupted reading, some-thing I find almost impossible todo whilst I’m at home with twoyoung children !ARLETTE ENO-DAYNES BY EMAIL

EDITOR’S RESPONSE: Isn’t it great!You can put your feet up, relax– and save a life.

EDITOR’S RESPONSE TO ANONYMOUS LETTERSWe are not able to respond toanonymous letters. If you donot wish to be identified thenyou can ask for your name tobe withheld. Alternatively, youcan call our Helpline in com-plete confidence and be con-nected to a doctor who cananswer your questions. l

QThe invitation letters sentout contain quite a lot of

personal information.Is thisnecessary?

AThese details are needed toeliminate the risk of confusing

the identity of donors at session.At the moment we do not have theoption of removing certain detailsfrom our mailings. If you wouldprefer not to receive any mailings wecan update our system to reflect yourpreference. As an alternative, yourDonor Health Check form can beprinted at session,although thiswould be likely to slow your progressthrough the system.

QMembers of my localyouth group are

interested in blood donation.Is it possible to organise atalk about it?

We reply to some of your questions about donating

AYes,we are always happy togive talks to groups, schools

and colleges.You can go to ourwebsite,www.blood.co.uk and fill inthe enquiry form or call our Helpline0845 7 711 711.

QCould my blood be givento a patient in a private

hospital?

AWe collect and supply blood forany patient who needs it. Also,

many patients who are treated inprivate hospitals are,of course,blooddonors too.

QWhy have you raised therequired level of

haemoglobin (Hb)? Mine wassometimes too low before.Now, I wonder if I’ll be able toreach the higher level.

AThe level has been raised slightly,to comply with new blood safety

and quality rules.While people whohave given blood at the old levels willnot have been harmed,this changemakes donating even safer. Weappreciate the disappointment thismay cause,but I hope that you willunderstand that Hb levels are set tohelp prevent any of our donorsbecoming anaemic.

QI sometimes taketranquillisers.Does this

prevent me from givingblood?

AThe session medical staff willneed to see what medication

you are on,so please bring it with you.The nurse or doctor may have a quick chat with you about yourmedication and any underlyingcondition,but in the vast majority ofcases tranquillisers do not stop youfrom giving blood.l

cent of our work; it’s nowapproaching 30 per cent.”

As a living product, skin mustbe handled very quickly and iscryo-preserved (frozen), whichkeeps it in a living state until apatient needs it. It is mainly usedfor burns and is the besttemporary skin graft that exists.This wafer-thin sheet of skin,donated after death, can make ahuge difference to a patient.


Tissue banking– Looking to the future

There’s more to us than just blood.Tissuebanking is a fast-expanding area of our work,and thanks to a new, purpose-built centre inLiverpool, we now have a world-class service

BEHIND THE SCENES

Every day, surgeonsare using donatedtissues such as

heart valves, bone, skin,tendons and corneas tosave and improvepatients’ lives. Our tissuebanking service providesdoctors with these tissues, and our special-ists are at the forefront of research, developingnew techniques in thislife-saving field.

The service began 40years ago in Yorkshire,supplying skin, bone,tendons and heart valves to theregion’s hospitals. Many of theprocessing techniques that weredeveloped there are still widelyused today. As demand grew,new tissue banks sprang uparound the country, some run byus and some independently. Tenyears ago some of theindependent banks joined withus to form the largest tissue bankin Europe.

Today our tissue banking isconcentrated in two centres:Edgware in the south and a newpurpose-built, state-of-the-artcentre in Liverpool which openedlast July. Helen Gillan, tissue bank

manager in Liverpool, says, “It’s agreat centre to work in. The teamis very enthusiastic and we allwork better as a group becausemost of us are in one building.Also, being together means wecan progress ideas much faster.”

Changing demandHelen has seen demand changeover the years. “In the early 90sskin accounted for just one per

Tissue banking– Looking to the future


“When the skin is applied to theburn it closes the wound,reducing water loss and bacterialinfection, which means thepatient has a better chance ofsurviving,” says Helen.

Unfortunately the bank can’tget enough of it. “Surgeonstypically ask for 10,000 squarecentimetres of skin for onepatient, but each donor can onlygive around 2,500 squarecentimetres. This means it cantake four donors to supplyenough skin for one patient.”

Yet donated skin should not bein short supply at all, says Helen.“Many deceased adults candonate skin because it doesn’tdeteriorate with age like someorgans and tendons. Providing adonor meets the general criteriafor tissue donation and washealthy prior to death, they aremore likely to be suitable todonate skin.”

The Liverpool bank alsoprepares and stores largequantities of bone. This can betaken both from living donors -for example during a hipreplacement – and also fromdeceased donors. Depending onwhat type of graft a surgeonrequests, bone can be used eitherwhole or ground down to

different sizes.Ground bone is

often used in revisionhip surgery. This isperformed when apatient’s own bonehas been worn away bythe hip replacement,leaving a gap between the replacement and theoriginal bone.

The patient finds itvery painful to walk; donatedground bone can be used totemporarily fill the space and actas a scaffold to support thepatient’s bone. In time,hormones and chemicals fromthe donor’s bone encourage thepatient to produce new bone oftheir own, which fills in thespace.

New developmentsResearch and development forma key part of the Liverpoolcentre’s work, and the team arelooking at ways of improvingexisting tissues and checkingthem so that they are ‘fit forpurpose’.

Ground-breaking research isbeing carried out to develop atissue that is as close as possibleto the patient’s own. The newmethod involves taking cells from

the patient and actually puttingthem in conditions which allowthem to grow into donor tissue,and then using this to treat thepatient. It could beat the problempatients currently face whentheir body recognises donatedtissue as foreign and theirimmune system attacks.

Skin grafts grown in this waycould be potentially life-savingfor a patient with severe burns,who would not, unlike minorburns patients, be able to haveskin grafts taken from other partsof their own body, because agreat deal of their skin would betoo damaged to use.

The idea of growing a patient’stissue to be given back to them, isalso the inspiration for a long-term project involving theexpertise of cardiac surgeons anda local university. It is looking atproducing human heart valvesfor children with damaged ordefective ones. This would meanthat rather than surgeons havingto operate every few years to fitlarger valves as the child grows,the child would be given a valve

made using their own stem cells,that would grow with them. Thisproject is some way from beingused on patients, but lookshopeful.

The new centre’s developmentlaboratory also has the space

1953 First attempt is made to preserve artery tissue1955 Skin and bone banking introduced 1962 Heart valve banking begins1992 New methods allow increased production of skin from

patient’s own cells2006 Further developments including autologous tears and arteries.

and the facilities to i n t roducedifferent types oftissues that havenot been widelyavailable before,such as arteries,which are used to treat peoplewith severelydamaged artery walls. The newcentre has also allowed forincreased production ofautologous tears for patientswith a condition called dry eyes.These tears are made by usingserum from the patient’s ownblood, which is then diluted withsaline and bottled. They offer asimple solution to a seriousproblem which, left untreated,can lead to blindness.

The possibilities for patients

are endless. But just like blood,tissues are only available to helpsave and improve lives becausepeople donate them. HelenGillan says, “Despite all theseadvances, we still face the basicproblem of meeting demand forsome tissues. The only way wewill manage this is if more peoplesign up to the organ donorregister and let their loved onesknow their wishes.”l

BECOME ANORGAN DONORJoin the NHS Organ DonorRegister: 0845 60 60 400 www.uktransplant.org.ukRemember to make sureyour family knows you wantto be an organ donor.

Tissues timeline Tissues timeline

Above:Leanne Johnson andHelen Gillan,Liverpool tissue bank manager,with thecryo-presever. Right:PaulRooney checks some samples

Above:Donated skin iscarefully packed before being cryo-preserved (frozen)

l People wanting to give the gift of life should register theirwishes by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register.

l Discuss your wishes with your family.

l Last year 2,778 people received an organ transplant and a further2,494 received the gift of sight through a cornea transplant.

l More than 8,000 people currently are waiting for an organtransplant.

l Around 400 people die each year while waiting for a transplant.

l For further information and to join the NHS Organ Donor Registerplease call 0845 60 60 400 or visit www.uktransplant.org.uk

NHS Organ Donor RegisterNHS Organ Donor Register


transplant operation. All wentwell, but Connor still had tospend four months in intensivecare to allow his failing organs tostart working properly again.

Maria says, “I am so proud ofConnor and his achievements. I will be eternally grateful to thedonor and their family for givingConnor the chance to have anormal childhood. We definitelywon the lottery the day Connorgot his new heart!

spent in hospital and as he wasgrowing up he couldn’t do verymuch,” says Maria. “He tired soeasily, was very blue, and hestruggled to be fed, whichmeant he relied on a feedingtube. At night he neededoxygen to help him breathe.”

But things went from bad toworse for Connor. “After hisheart operation when he wasthree he became really ill andsuffered multiple organ failure.Doctors told me then that theonly option left was a hearttransplant. I was frightened butknew the transplant could giveConnor a new lease of life.”

These were the hardest timesfor Maria. “I felt so helpless asConnor’s condition became life-threatening – doctors gave himjust days to live. I wanted to domore, but there was nothing Icould do but pray a transplantwould be found in time. Iremember the doctors giving mepacks of blood to warm in myhands before the manytransfusions Connor received.I’m sure there are machines todo this but they must haveknown I found it comforting tofeel I was helping in some way.”

During the wait for a suitablematch, blood transfusionshelped keep Connor alive.When the miracle happenedand a match was found, Connorwas taken to the FreemanHospital in Newcastle for the

He clearly had an inspirationaleffect on Michael who suddenlyfound his best form and hit anamazing 166 runs during his firstinnings, helping secure England’sfirst Ashes victory since 1987.Coincidence? Perhaps, butMichael was so impressed bysmiling, outgoing Connor thathe dedicated his recent book,‘Calling The Shots’, to him.

Connor, you’ll have gathered,is no ordinary boy. He was bornwith a heart condition that’soften fatal – Hypo-plastic LeftHeart. “It meant only half of hisheart had developed,” mumMaria Chebrika explains. “Whenthe doctors told me, all I canremember thinking is how muchI wanted to hold Connor in myarms. I had to convince myself allwould be well and he was ingood hands – but deep down Iwas petrified.”

Connor was transferred toAlder Hey Children’s Hospital inLiverpool for surgery. “Connorreceived his first heart surgery atjust eight-days-old,” says Maria.Two more major operationsfollowed to improve thefunctioning of his tiny heart– abypass at 18 months andanother when he was three.Before, during and after theseoperations, blood productsplayed a vital role in keepingConnor alive.

“The vast majority of the firstthree years of Connor’s life was

Connor Shaw needed a miracle to beat his heart condition. He got one – a heart transplant.

Thanks to this – and donated blood – he’s made a great recovery. He’s also inspired one of

England’s cricketing heroes

ORGAN TRANSPLANT

Can one small boy reallyspur on 11 men to victory? It seems that

six-year-old Connor Shaw didjust that. On the morning of last

summer’s nail-biting third testmatch in the Ashes series, playedat Old Trafford in Manchester,Connor met England captainMichael Vaughan.


“The four months I spent withConnor in Newcastle wereextremely tough. Staying awayfrom home for that amount oftime was tiring and I longed for theday I could take my son home.”

She adds, “Connor truly is aremarkable little boy, butwithout the help of others –medical experts, his transplantdonor and blood donors - hewould not be here today.”

Incredibly, just six monthsafter Connor’s life-saving hearttransplant he was back atnursery – making up for losttime and running and jumpinglike any other youngster.

Connor has a special messageto the medical staff and blooddonors who helped him on hisroad to recovery, “Thank you toeverybody who helped me – Ilove it now I can run around andplay games with my friends.” l

Connor meets the captains

A captain’s inspirationA captain’s inspiration

Michael (Vaughan)was so impressed bysmiling,outgoingConnor that he

dedicated his recentbook,‘Calling The

Shots’, to him

However, a big part of my job isworking alongside those hospitalstaff who are involved in givingtransfusions, and raising theirawareness of safe, effectivealternatives. These range fromsimple things like assessingpatients well before they come in

for surgery andcorrecting

anaemia with iron supplements, tousing equipment during surgerywhich collects the patient’s blood,cleans it and returns it to them.

QHow can using less bloodbe better for patients?

AI actually think these initiativeshave great benefits for

patients. Having a blood trans-fusion, like any medical procedure,carries certain risks. Making use ofsafe alternatives means that wecan reduce the risk, and also helpsensure more blood is available forthose who really need it.

QDescribe a typical workingday for you.

AMost of my time is spenttraining and advising a wide

range of hospital staff abouttransfusions. One of the most

useful talks I have given was toour anaesthetists. They are

the people who takethe decision to givetransfusions duringoperations, so I gavethem informationabout the averageamount of bloodwhich is neededfor differentoperations.This hashelpedthem to

plan howmuch blood

they need. I alsowork with other front

line staff who give transfusions,

especially nurses, and visit patients on the wards

to answer any questions they might have.

QWhat has changed forpatients?

AWe’re working to improve the information we provide

for patients about transfusion and the alternatives. I’m nowdistributing a leaflet called‘Receiving a Blood Transfusion’and the reaction has been verypositive. One scheme we haveintroduced which has beenparticularly popular is checkingand correcting patients’ iron levelsbefore surgery. Treating a patient’sanaemia before they come intohospital means they feel betterbefore the operation, andgenerally have a quicker recoverytime. People are also willing to trynew techniques such as ‘recycling’the blood they lose in surgerybecause they like to feel they arecontributing to their own care.

QAre you a blood donoryourself?

AI gave blood for many years butunfortunately can’t now for

health reasons. It was always veryimportant to me because my wifehad a major haemorrhage after thebirth of our son and needed a lot oftransfusions. Even though I can’tdonate any more I hope my workhelps make sure blood is there forothers when they really need it.

QYou sound very passionateabout your work, how do

you relax?

AI support Manchester City,although that’s hardly relaxing

these days! I also do a lot of cyclingand regularly take part insponsored bike rides for charity.Apart from that you’ll find me in front of my piano playing a bit of ragtime! l


Tony Davies is a transfusion practitioner at Hope Hospital in Salford. Every day he helps doctors and nurses to make

the very best use of blood, whilst ensuring patients still get the care they need

MEET THE EXPERT

Making the most of a valuable resourceMaking the most of a valuable resourceQSo, what led you into your

career in blood?

AAfter my degree in biologicalsciences I took a job in the

blood bank at North ManchesterGeneral Hospital. After four yearsthere I moved to Hope Hospital andI’ve been here ever since. Aftercompleting specialist qualificationsand an MSc I managed thehospital blood bank, but when anew post came up for a TransfusionPractitioner I fancied the challenge.

QAnd what is a transfusionpractitioner?

AA transfusion practitioner is aperson who is the specialist

point of contact between clinicaland laboratory staff. I am part ofthe team ensuring that patientsget the right amount of the rightblood when they need it. It’s vitallyimportant that we don’t waste adrop of this precious resource. Thejob used to be viewed as more of anursing role, but now you are justas likely to see practitioners fromother health care backgrounds. I took the post after the launch ofthe Better Blood Transfusionscheme which was aimed athelping hospitals make the bestuse of blood because it is such a

valuable resource. I work closelywith the NBS which is at theforefront of the drive to ensurethat hospitals make the best use ofdonated blood. I work with theregional transfusion liaison nursewho works with us to shareinformation and new develop-ments. It’s great to have thatsupport, particularly as our job isrelatively new.

QHow do you influence theuse of blood in your hospital?

AIn some circumstancesdonated blood is undoubt-

edly the best option for a patient.

OLL

Y B

ALL


“I work closely with

the NBS which is at the

forefront of the drive

to ensure that

hospitals make the

best use of

donated blood”

Tony Davies with nurse JemmaBurgess discussing latestdevelopments

THE DONOR SUMMER 200630

Why we alwaysneed your platelets l Platelets are essential forstopping bleeding andbruising.

l They are tiny fragments of cells made in the bonemarrow.

l If a blood vessel isdamaged, the platelets gluetogether to make a plug.

l Patients who needplatelets are those whosebone marrow isn’t workingproperly, those with severeinfections or who arerecovering after majorsurgery.

l The life of a platelet isvery short so these patientsmay need platelets everyday or every other day. l

ASK THE DOCTOR

QWhat are platelet donors and why do we

need them?Platelet donors are blood donorswho give platelets rather thanwhole blood. The platelets arecollected using a special machinecalled a cell separator. Plateletsare needed for patientsundergoing chemotherapy, orwho are anaemic, or otherwiseat risk of internal bleeding.Because the need for platelets isconstant, and they can only bestored for a few days, we alwaysneed donors who can giveplatelets regularly andfrequently.

QCan anyone be a platelet donor?

No. It depends on your plateletcount. We all have a differentnumber of platelets in our blood.A normal range for an adult isusually between 150 and 450million platelets per litre of wholeblood. Platelet donors must havea good platelet count of 250million platelets per litre to beable to donate two or threedoses and still have plenty ofplatelets left in their blood tocompensate. Because theprocess is carried out morefrequently (see questions below)platelet donors also need to haveveins that are easy to find. If it

turns out you can’t be a plateletdonor, please don’t feel you’vefailed. Being a whole blooddonor is still vitally important!

QHow long does it take todonate platelets?

It takes about 90 minutes,compared to donating wholeblood which usually takes 15minutes for the actual process.

QHow often can youdonate platelets?

We ask that platelet donorsdonate regularly – at least eight toten times per year. Some plateletdonors even choose to donateevery two weeks. Obviously it’sbest if our platelet donors live orwork fairly close to one of ourpermanent donor centres.

QIs it safe to give plateletsso regularly?

Yes, completely. Unlike wholeblood donation, your red cellsand platelets are separated bythe cell-separating machine towhich you are connected. Redcells are then returned to thebody by the same machine, all inthe space of one donation. Yourbone marrow then sets to workand replaces the donatedplatelets within 48 – 72 hours.

QDoes your blood groupaffect whether you can

donate platelets?We need platelet donors fromblood groups A, O or B. Bloodgroup AB patients can receive

group A platelets. We recruitfewer platelet donors from bloodgroup B to reflect our nationalblood group distribution.Statistics show that 44 per centof our population are group O,42 per cent are group A, and justten per cent are group B.

QHow can I become aplatelet donor?

You must be aged between 18and 60 and have alreadydonated blood at least oncesuccessfully without anyuntoward effects such asbruising or fainting. l

Our doctor,

Moji Gesinde,

answers your

questions about

platelet donation

Platelet donationPlatelet donation

ACROSS4 Feeling of great

elation (8)7 Friends (4)8 Star in Cygnus (5)9 The ___ Ballet (5)10 Relating to vessels

carrying fluid in thebody (8)

11 Food and drink list (4)12 Notion (4)14 Branch of mathe-

matics (8)16 Angry or excited

(3,2)17 Garment around

the neck (5)19 Fastened with

string (4)20 Vikings (8)

DOWN1 Regretted (4)2 Unwelcome comput-

er programmer (6)3 Cricket team maybe (6)5 Not made by

machine (11)6 Break with estab-

lished custom (5)

Complete the crossword. The perimeter letters, beginning at 1 and proceedingclockwise, spell out a two-word phrase. Send the phrase on a postcard togetherwith your name, address and daytime phone number to Crossword Competition,The Donor, NBS, 14 Estuary Banks, Speke, Liverpool, L24 8RB. You could win a new‘Amazing’ NBS sports umbrella. Answers and the winner will be in the next issue ofThe Donor. All entries must be received by August 31st 2006.

7 Walk aimlessly (11)13 Flowering plant (6)14 Sloping top of a wall (6)15 Powerful optical

device (5)18 Escape (4)

CROSSWORD

LAST ISSUE’S SOLUTION

WE HAVE A WINNER!Congratulations to Mrs L Close from Pontefract, WestYorkshire, who correctly answered last issue’scrossword.The correct answer was CORPUSCLE.


33 THE DONOR SPRING 2004

NBS INFORMATIONIf you have a general enquiry or need any information about giving blood, just call the 24 hour Donor Helpline on

0845 7 711 711 and staff willanswer your queries on:

• Whether you are able to give blood• Where you can give blood locally• 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!

DON’T FORGET information is also available onour website www.blood.co.ukBBC2 Ceefax page 465 will give you details ofblood donor sessions in your TV region over thenext two days.

We always need new donors. So please, if you arenot a donor, fill out the coupon below, place it inan envelope and send it to National Blood Service,FREEPOST, 75 Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 7YB,or call 0845 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. MO6I would like to join the NHS Blood Donor Register as someone whomay be contacted and would be prepared to donate blood.I understand that the National Blood Service (NBS) or its partnersmay phone, write or otherwise contact me with details of localdonor sessions. I agree to the NBS holding my personal details on their donor database and processing this information as necessary for the proper administration of the NBS.32 THE DONOR SUMMER 2006

Remember to ‘Give before you go’If you travel to certain parts of the world you may not be able to donatefor a period of time after you get back. So please check before you travel

– call 0845 7 711 711 or visit www.blood.co.uk

Madeyour dateto giveblood?

the donor - summer 2006

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