TRANSFUSION SERVICE

Press, Volume C, Issue 29509, 10 May 1961, Page 10

TRANSFUSION SERVICE

73 Pints Of Blood From One Donor

One donor to the North Canterbury Blood Transfusion Service has given 73 pints of blood, while another has given more than 70. Four have given between 60 and 69 pints. More than half the donors attending the blood bank have given 10 or more donations. These figures are given in the 22nd annual report of the service. Six of the original donors who enrolled when the service was founded on October 21, 1937, are still giving, the report says. Over the years. 14.479 donors have been enrolled, of whom 5911 are still on the active list in the district. Many others have been passed on to other centres, where they are still giving good service. The current president (Dr. L. C. L. Averill) was a foundation member of the service. The mobile unit had a record year, with 2673 donations in 25 country visits. The total donations, however, fell by 80 bottles to 9137. The amount of blood used fell from 7488 bottles in 1959-60 to 6779 bottles last year. The chairman (Dr. R. C. S. Dick), commenting on the drop in usage, says in the report that “it is of the greatest importance that the number of new donors enrolling is kept up to allow for any emergency.” The reduction in demand was the first recorded for many years.