What it's like to... Give blood

Each blood donation can save and improve up to three lives, and so we wondered just what it's like to give blood, and how it benefits people in our community and further afield.

When a member of our Weekend team began donating, he was told that his blood type was very rare. Simon Hill, the head of editorial art, discovered that his is the AB negative type, something that he shares with just one per cent of donors.

Upon further investigation, we discovered that Simon's blood is very helpful for platelet donation, as AB negative platelets can be given to anyone. Platelets are the very important cells in blood that helps it to clot. They're commonly used in cancer treatment and for trauma victims, when people are at risk from serious bleeds.

Simon tells us: "Giving blood is easy – I usually go on a Tuesday night and if there's a football match on, I just sit and watch it on my phone. Before I know it, it's all done. I'm not scared of needles, and so it doesn't bother me at all when they hook me up. I just make sure to drink lots of water beforehand and I have a cup of tea and a biscuit afterwards. The people at the centre are always really nice too, and so it's just easy to donate."

Simon, 30, began giving blood once he saw the impact it can make first hand. He says: "I've given blood now numerous times. It began when my niece Charlotte was born seven years ago. She was very premature and due to complications, she needed a transfusion herself. We saw how someone else's donation had benefitted our family, and so now I do the same.

"Knowing that I have a rare blood type inspires me to give too, because I now know that it can be used to help so many different people. You get message updates when your blood has been issued, so you can follow the story after you leave the centre."

Within a week of his latest donation, Simon got a text to say that his blood had been shipped up to Manchester for use at Christies – a specialist cancer treatment hospital. But blood like Simon's is also used much closer to home.

Six-year-old Joshua Grabic from Perton has received blood and platelets transfusions while he is treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. The lively little boy was diagnosed last November after he fell ill with flu-like symptoms. He then began to feel pains in his legs that left him struggling to walk, and he felt tired all the time. Even then, his parents Rhian and Domonik had no idea that their son was so unwell – it was revealed that he was severely anaemic in blood tests.

Support worker Rhian, 33, says: "It was a big shock because we thought it was just a viral infection because they can sometimes leave you anaemic."

But further tests found that Joshua had leukaemia. Rhian says: "When Joshua was first diagnosed he was so pale, and he could hardly move. But when he got his first blood transfusion, his colour came back and he was just like his old self."

So far, Joshua has had six blood transfusions and one platelet transfusion. The cancer affects Joshua's blood, but the chemotherapy he's on also damages his bone marrow, which is where blood is produced. He was on steroids, and is currently undergoing maintenance chemotherapy after an initial bout of intensive chemo. The results have been positive so far, and he's now returned to lessons at school. Rhian tells us: "Joshua is doing really well considering all the different drugs he has been on.

"All of his hair fell out though it has grown back and he has been sick a few times, and he struggles with mobility. But he is doing so well and he has always got a smile."

This isn't the first time that the Grabic family have benefitted from the kindness of donors. Rhian says: "I had a blood transfusion when Josh was born – I had two or three units for a haemorrhage. I always wanted to give blood because my mum used to do it when I was little.

"It was something I was planning to do later in life but I didn't realise I wouldn't be able to because I needed a transfusion myself. I regret that now, I wish I had given blood. Blood donation means a huge amount to us and we are so grateful to all the donors out there."

Joshua's family are supporting the NHS Blood and Transplant's Missing Type campaign, asking people to sign up as new blood donors. In particular they need young donors, those from black and Asian backgrounds and donors with O negative blood. If you want to help people like Joshua and potentially offer life-saving help, register at www.blood.co.uk