BLOOD TRANSFUSION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21668, 11 June 1932, Page 19

BLOOD TRANSFUSION

an up-to-date service. Sir Arthur Stanley, chairman of the British Red Cross Society,, speaking at a social meeting of the Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service in London, said the story of the service was one of steady and consistent progress. Sir Arthur was told that up to the present nearly 10,000 calls had been received, and each year showed an increase on the year before. Up to the beginning of April, 552 calls "had been received since the beginning of the year. For the corresponding period of 1031 the number was 45(5, and for 1030, 389. The first man, Mr A. F. Leslie, of Clapton, to give .40 blood transfusions was presented with a bar to his inedaji and the first woman, Nurse V. E. Smith, of Tooting, to attain 20 blood transfusions was also presented with a bar to her medal. . . . In making the presentations bir Arthur congratulated all concerned with the service on the valuable work they were doing. “I do not want to describe blood donors as heroes,” he said, “for I am assured by my friends in the medical profession that a little blood-letting now and then, as was a habit a century; or two ago, has a real tonic effect. At the same time, whether it is good for them or not, I think we must recognise the social service these men and women are doing who have volunteered to give their blood, not for the sake of their own kith and kin, but for utter strangers. “The Blood Transfusion Service, L am glad to see, is a really up-to-date body. It has its own slogans. Here are one or two of them:— You want the best blood—we nave it. Try our famous red and white corpuscles. • Families’ supplied—day or night. “ The value of the work of tlm Blood Transfusion Service is now recognised by this Medical Research Council, and we now have a medical officer at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital for testing and classifying prospective volunteers.”