BLOOD DONORS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 97, 26 April 1941, Page 14

BLOOD DONORS

MORE WANTED

TRANSFUSION SERVICES

"Very valuable national service can be rendered by citizens willing in an emergency to donate supplies of blood for transfusion purposes," said the Minister of National Service (Mr. Sernple* this week.

Representatives of the Army Medical Services and the pathologists of the larger hospitals had recently explained to him, he said, that experience of air raid casualties in England had shown how essential it was that adequate facilities for blood transfusions should be available. It was considered that present lists of voluntary donors in th various branches of the Blood Transfusion Service throughout the country would have to be considerably j enlarged to meet possible needs. An important part of this service was the building up of supplies in advance, and for this purpose it was necessary to have regular donors. "1 therefore appeal to all citizens who are in good health to offer themselves as voluntary donors to the existing Blood Transfusion Services," said Mr. Semple. The Minister added that certain regular donors, because of the nature of their duties or othei reasons, might not be available in emergency. This applied especially to women and Home Guardsmen, and it was therefore suggested that members of the emergency precautions scheme could <make a particularly patriotic contribution by offering their services now,, so that they would be available whenever required, ' "Anyone willing to submit to the temporary inconvenience of blood donation, which might be the means of saving the lives of others, should send in his name and address to the superintendent of the local public hospital or to the iocal branch of the National Blood Tranfusion Council. I am assured by competent authorities that donations of blood, carefully regulated as they are, result in no impairment of the health of the donor, but, on the contrary, are frequently beneficial." ' ■