Blood donor with vital blood type urges young people to “try it once” after 50 years of donating
A man who has donated blood for 50 years is urging young people to "try it once" as numbers of young donors signing up to donate are lower than in previous years.
Pete Healy, 76, of High Wycombe, recently celebrated his half decade of donating. He has donated 112 units of blood so far and plans to continue.
His blood type, O negative, can be given safely to all blood types, so it is used by first responders in emergencies before the patient's blood type is known.
Of his 112 donations, Pete has completed 4 with his daughter, Rachael, who has the Ro blood subtype. This subtype is found in only 2% of regular donors' blood, and is vital for treating sickle cell patients.
The NHS urgently needs to find more O negative and Ro donors. The public are being urged to come and give blood, find out if they have the high-demand blood types and help save more lives.
Donors over the age of 45 now make up over 50 percent of regular donors, while the proportion of younger donors has shrunk, with only half as many 17 to 24 year-olds giving blood now compared with 5 years ago.
What has kept Pete donating for 50 years?
Despite them both having important blood types, Pete said being O negative isn't what motivates him to donate.
"Although I knew it was important, I don't think there’s the emphasis that there is now. I don't feel there was a particular fuss made. I just donated because it was what I did.
"It's now swung so much towards O negative because that's what you can use out of emergency responders, but I'm not sure in the 70s it was carried on ambulances."
His first donation took place 1975 when starting a new Management Trainee job at the North Thames Gas Board.
"I was 26 when I first donated. I'd just got married, I'd just changed jobs, and they'd have the blood wagon over every so often.
"Someone said, 'why don’t you give blood? Healthy 26-year-olds should.' So I did, and never really looked back!"
As Pete made blood donation part of his routine, he noticed 'NEO' labels on his blood bags. This meant that his blood lacks antibodies to a common virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV) so can be safely given to newborn babies.
Pete now enjoys receiving the text message updates after his donations telling him where his blood has been used.
Pete said:
"Each donation I give can go to up to 6 babies as the babies are not needing that much blood each. I thought, that’s lovely, and occasionally you see the blood is delivered to Great Ormond Street.
"This last lot went to Guys Hospital, and you think, that's lovely to know where it's going."
Reflecting on his 50 years of donating blood, he urged young people who might be considering it to give it a go.
"I’d say try it. I know the thought of the needle in you doesn’t fill you with joy, but once it’s in there and the blood is flowing, it really isn’t difficult.
"And just that feeling – you're giving back and helping somebody who’s injured or needs blood regularly to live. Try it once, I'd say."
How you can help
Daniel Cooper, Assistant Director for Blood Operations at NHS Blood and Transplant, says:
"We are so grateful to donors like Pete who help ensure that the blood is available when patients and hospitals urgently need it. We hope hearing his story inspires others to start donating.
"Like Pete did 50 years ago, the NHS needs more young people to sign up and donate. Young people have a whole lifetime ahead of them to become regular donors and are less likely to be excluded due to health conditions.
"We also urgently need more donors with much needed blood types, including O negative, B negative and donors of Black heritage to book appointments and help stabilise stocks of these vital blood groups, so we have the right mix of blood types to meet demand."
To find out more or book an appointment, visit our website or call 0300 123 23 23.