Festival stars are baying for some new blood donors

Blood, Sweat and Theatre aims to get summer visitors to help boost blood stores at a time when many regular donors are on holiday and the city's population suddenly doubles.

The event, on August 11, is organised by production company Hartshorn Hook, which is bringing five shows, including Fame The Musical and Elvis Live to the Fringe, from its base in Manchester with around 130 cast and crew.

Managing director Brian Hook said 80 people had already signed up to donate and he is recruiting performers from other companies.

He said: "We had the management flat in Polwarth Gardens last year and you have to walk past the blood bank every day to get to see shows, so I just thought it would be a good thing to do.

"When you're producing this number of shows and you've got this many people, it's nice to give something back.

"It's a matter really close to my heart. A very good friend of mine was in a car accident and unfortunately lost her life. She had a lot of blood transfusions and it was really poignant.

"It's the best gift you can give to a stranger and it's free. I've got lots of blood, I don't need it all."

He approached the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service to warn them of the influx, and then found support from an unexpected source.

He said: "It was a very weird coincidence. It started off just as something I wanted to do, then we brought in a marketing officer, Alex Thompson, to promote the shows, and it just so happens that his dad is director of the Scottish Blood Service and he said he thought it was a great idea.

"It's brilliant that so many people have signed up. There's 30 that I've never met who have said that they're going to come along. It's open to everybody."

Mr Thompson said: "My dad is the director of the Blood Service and Brian's a big blood donor and my whole family are.

"When Brian mentioned it to me, I thought it would be great if we could get everyone together, we could do a big Facebook campaign and create a big event, and people's reaction has been really positive.

"It's hopefully going to be the start of a big thing."

The drive was welcomed by National Blood Services manager Moira Carter, who said the 500 pints of blood typically given in a week at the Lauriston Place centre often dropped by 100 pints in the summer.

She said: "In Edinburgh in particular, the Festival can be difficult because there are lots of people around, but they're busy doing other things because there's such a range of stuff to do. Regular donors, even if they're in Edinburgh, keep a bit of a low profile because the city's so busy and we do tend to notice the difference.

"It's really good to have the theatre company reminding people how important this is."

Mr Hook will be at the donor centre in Lauriston Place to welcome people throughout the session, which runs from 1.30pm until 3.30pm. He said: "If anyone wants to come down even if they can't come down that day, go another day."

For more information see the Facebook group Blood, Sweat and Theatre. To find out about other opportunities to donate, visit www.scotblood.co.uk or call 0845 90 90 999.