AFTER receiving a life-saving blood donation, a Kenilworth woman is encouraging people to brave the needle.
In November, Hollie Smith received five units of blood after a serious crash left her with life threatening injuries and 27 broken bones.
The 23-year-old Yves Saint Laurent beauty account manager was driving home from work when her car was in a head-on crash with another car.
Hollie’s legs were badly crushed and she had to lay flat on her back for six weeks, only able to move her arms.
She said: “I nearly died and whoever donated that blood did an amazing thing by saving a life!
“So I’m urging people who can, to give blood – you will save lives.”
Last year some 11,500 people in Warwickshire gave bloody but less than one in five of those donations came from young people and across England donations have dropped by a quarter in the last decade.
NHS Blood and Transplant have launched the Missing Type campaign to encourage more people – especially Asian and black people and those aged 17 to 24 – to become blood donors.
Director of blood donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, Mike Stredder, said: “Blood donation is an amazing gift and transfusions save lives in Warwickshire every day.
“Whether it is patients receiving treatment for cancer, blood disorders, after accidents or during surgery, or new mums who lost blood in childbirth, blood is an absolutely essential part of modern healthcare.
“Thanks to the generosity of our current donors, hospitals have the blood needed to treat patients and there is not a crisis in blood stocks.
“Despite overall blood use in hospitals declining, we need more young donors to safeguard blood donation for future generations.
“And it’s vital the blood donor community reflects the diversity of the population because blood types vary across communities and patients need well-matched blood.”
Visit www.blood.co.uk for more information and to register as a blood donor.
