A cup of tea and a biscuit later, you'll have saved a life

Published on Tuesday 29 December 2009 09:46

WHEN Susan Eddington made her regular trips to give blood, she rarely thought about where her donation may end up.

The Portobello mother keenly attended every few months as a teenager, never thinking that she would ever be the one in need.

But out of the blue in April last year, the 54-year-old was struck down by cancer, and suddenly required several pints of blood to keep her alive.

Now Mrs Eddington, who has completed her chemotherapy for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, has joined the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service campaign encouraging people in the Lothians to give blood.

"I'm doing this really as a thank-you to the service and to those who gave blood which I received," she said. "If it hadn't been for that, I wouldn't be here just now."

During her treatment, she received nine pints of blood, as well as three doses of platelets, which would have required the blood of 12 people.

"I did used to give blood in my teens, then when I had children it petered out a little," the Scotmid worker said. "I didn't ever give much thought to where it was going or even why it was important to do it.

"But now I know, and would encourage everyone to do it, because it's no bother at all.

"Just turn up, squeeze your hand, then get a cup of tea and a biscuit at the end of it, and you could have saved a life."

Married mother-of-two Mrs Eddington was healthy before she was admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia

That diagnosis eventually revealed a weakening of her immune system caused by the life-threatening illness.

Not only was she concerned for her own health, but terrified of informing bus driver husband Alex, 55, and sons Sandy, 27, and 24-year-old David.

She said: "It all happened so quickly, I really thought that was it, I was going to die.

"But after meeting other people in hospital who'd had it years before, that gave me real hope.

"I didn't even tell my youngest son when I was diagnosed because he was about to go on holiday, so he wasn't best pleased when he got back."

Today's campaign launch is also highlighting a drop in donations over the winter period, partly because donors face difficulty travelling to blood centre locations.

As a result, the service is keen to rebuild stocks for the New Year.

Dr Moira Carter, national donor services manager, said: "We are asking donors to come forward to help rebuild our supplies over the next few days.

"This will ensure we have enough blood to support Scotland's patients over the busy Hogmanay period and allow NHS Scotland to get up and running early in 2010."

It is estimated that 55,000 new donors are needed across Scotland to maintain supplies for next year.