Horsham blood donors awarded for saving lives

Blood donors from Horsham were among those to have been awarded by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) for their loyalty and commitment to blood donation.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Apr 2013, 22:00 BST
Pictured here from back left to right: Mrs Barbara Best, Mr Geoffrey Carter, Mrs Fiona Cashin, Mr Richard Ede, Mr Brian Farhall and 75th Mrs Sally Hill and fron front left to right: Mrs Alison Kennedy, Mr Andrew McMahon, Mr Peter Rolls, Darren Bowen  regional donor contact manager for NHS Blood and Transplant, Mrs Sally Strachan, and Mr John Winning.Pictured here from back left to right: Mrs Barbara Best, Mr Geoffrey Carter, Mrs Fiona Cashin, Mr Richard Ede, Mr Brian Farhall and 75th Mrs Sally Hill and fron front left to right: Mrs Alison Kennedy, Mr Andrew McMahon, Mr Peter Rolls, Darren Bowen  regional donor contact manager for NHS Blood and Transplant, Mrs Sally Strachan, and Mr John Winning.
Pictured here from back left to right: Mrs Barbara Best, Mr Geoffrey Carter, Mrs Fiona Cashin, Mr Richard Ede, Mr Brian Farhall and 75th Mrs Sally Hill and fron front left to right: Mrs Alison Kennedy, Mr Andrew McMahon, Mr Peter Rolls, Darren Bowen  regional donor contact manager for NHS Blood and Transplant, Mrs Sally Strachan, and Mr John Winning.

The lifesaving efforts of 120 blood donors from across East and West Sussex were honoured with crystal awards at a ceremony at The Grand Hotel, in Brighton, on March 15.

Between them, the West Sussex donors have given more than 3,300 units of blood and saved up to 9,900 lives between them.

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Mr Peter Rolls, 75th award recipient from Horsham whose new aim is to reach 100 donations, said: “My daughter received cancer treatment and we saw how important blood can be to people in recovery.

“Donating blood is a positive thing to do – it makes me feel like I am doing something positive.

“You never know when someone you know and love will need blood.”

With each blood donation potentially saving the lives of up to three people, a donor who has given blood 75 times could have helped save the lives of up to 225 patients.

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Out of the four per cent of the eligible population who give blood, only three per cent ever manage to reach 75 donations and just one per cent reach 100.

The district’s 75th award recipients included: Mrs Barbara Best, Horsham; Mr Geoffrey Carter, Horsham; Mrs Fiona Cashin, Horsham; Mr Richard Ede, Horsham; Mr Brian Farhall, Mannings Heath; Mrs Sally Hill, Horsham; Mrs Alison Kennedy, Horsham; Mr Andrew McMahon, Horsham; Mr Peter Rolls, Horsham; Mrs Sally Strachan, Horsham; Mrs Eunice Pearson, Southwater and Mr Christopher Fairchild, Horsham.

Mr John Winning, Horsham was an 100th award recipient.

John Canning, lead donor relations manager for NHS Blood and Transplant in Sussex, said: “Sometimes you forget how much of a difference giving blood can make to people’s lives.

“Ceremonies like this allow us to say a massive thank you to all the donors that take time out of their busy lives to do something life saving on a regular basis.

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“These donors are an inspiration to us all and we hope that they continue donating and saving the lives of many more people.”

Anyone wanting to donate for the first time should be aged between 17-65, weighing at least 50 kg (7 stone 12lbs) and in general good health.

If you’ve donated before, you can start again up to your 70th birthday and there is no upper age limit for donors who have donated in the last two years.

To find out if you are eligible to become a blood donor and make a date to donate, visit www.blood.co.uk or call us on 0300 123 23 23.

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Pictured here from back left to right: Mrs Barbara Best, Mr Geoffrey Carter, Mrs Fiona Cashin, Mr Richard Ede, Mr Brian Farhall and 75th Mrs Sally Hill and fron front left to right: Mrs Alison Kennedy, Mr Andrew McMahon, Mr Peter Rolls, Darren Bowen – regional donor contact manager for NHS Blood and Transplant, Mrs Sally Strachan, and Mr John Winning.