Blood donations are required across England each day, in 2014 67% of blood was used to treat medical conditions such as anemia or leukemia, while 27% was used during surgery and the last 6% used to treat blood loss after childbirth.

There is a huge drive to get more young people on board to donate, as the majority of blood donors are over 45 and the need to secure a steady supply of blood to hospitals.

Giving blood is a fulfilling process as I spoke to one donor,

Emma age 17 has just started donating as she was prompted by the fact her mother needs weekly transfusion and the knowledge that she is the age she can start donating, she is "looking foward to donating again"

With one full donation taking 5-10 minutes and 470ml of blood there is little inconvenience to the donor although the whole process from door to door takes about an hour the feeling of knowing you have saved up to three lives is immense. About two weeks later an text will arrive with the details of what hospital your blood has been issued too.

Giving blood is not the only thing you can do to give back to your community, organ donation is just as important with a new law pasted last March 15th the donation system will be opt-out instead of opt-in for those 18 plus, but if your family does not know your wishes then they can block the donation.

If you have any questions always consult the NHS blood and transplant page at https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/