Carl's donor story

I first gave whole blood in secondary school, it was a one-off blood drive and a way of getting out of school for a few hours. After a number of years in the workforce my workplace was running a blood drive and a work colleague of mine convinced me to go. After donating whole blood semi-regularly for a few years I was asked if I would donate Plasma, which I happily agreed to.

Since then I've been a regular Plasma donor, with a few breaks and last year notched up my 50th donation. In the time I've been donating the needles and methods have changed quite a bit - but the end result is still the same! As an active person, Plasma is a great choice as the impact on my training is very low/barely noticeable - I just need to keep hydrated.

Not being overly worried about needles, that side has never been an issue for me - I enjoy giving knowing my donation can help multiple people from a range of ages and save lives! This is well worth the small needle and time it takes to donate.

The staff are always so friendly and happy to help - and the cuppa/biscuits provided are great :-) If you aren't a donor yet - please consider signing up! We need more donors to keep up with the demand for blood and blood products!