BLOOD DONORS’ SERVICE

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26723, 6 May 1952, Page 8

BLOOD DONORS’ SERVICE

TRANSFUSIONS FOR YEAR INCREASE

An increase of 414 voluntary blood donors since March 31, 1951, was shown in the report presented to the annual meeting of the North Canterbury branch of the National Blood Transfusion Service last evening. The total number of donors for 1952 was 1354 compared with 940 in 1951. Blood withdrawn for the year totalled 2803 pints compared with 1976 pints last year. About 27 donor groups had been set up in business firms and Government departments, and during the year the administration had been reorganised. The report said that the committee would now consist of the chairman of the North Canterbury Hospital Board (Mr V. C. Lawn); the Medical Superintendent of the Christchurch Public Hospital (Dr. A. D. Nelson), the director of pathology at the Christchurch Public Hospital (Dr. D. T. Stewart), the haematologist at the Christchurch Public Hospital (Dr. F. W. Gunz), two representatives of the donors (Mr N. A. Cameron and Mrs S. J. E. Clarke), a surgeon and a physician of the visiting staff of the Christchurch Public Hospital (Mr H. E. H. Denham and Dr. R. e. S. Dick), two members of the Canterbury division of the British Medical Association (Dr. L. C. L. Averill and Dr. J. Restell Thomas); representatives of the Venerable Order of St. John (Mr C. L. Rhodes), the Red Cross Society (Mrs H. Wales), the Rotary Club (Mr B. H. Etherington), and the Junior Chamber of Commerce (Mr V. Cox). In presenting the report the chairman of the branch (Dr: Averill) said that the increase of 414 donors during the year was a great step towards the target of 2000. “I should express the appreciation and gratitude of the committee to all our donors for the splendid service which had been rendered to the community since the inception of the service,” said Dr. Averill. “We might even call this period the Commander Kersley era. Our late secretary was the mainspring of our whole organisation, and we shall miss him verv mucu.

Dr. C. L. E. L. Sheppard said that the British Medical Association consisted of doctors concerned with the ra lifications of medicine, and the work of a doctor depended on the weapons he had. Every year something more was given to assist medical work. A few years ago a new weapon was penicillin. Blood transfusion during the later years had been a great weapon. When a doctor was faced with the necessity to give a patient a transfusion, he must think with gratitude towards the blood donor. “The doctors thank donors and look forward to increasing help in the future," he said.