Westgate Hall hosts blood drive

This May brings two opportunities to donate blood in Canterbury.

The donation sessions will be run from Westgate Hall tomorrow and on Wednesday May 14 between 13:45 and 19:45.

You can donate if you are between the ages of 17 to 65, between 50kg to 158kg and in good health.

There is further guidance on whether you are eligible to donate on the NHS website.

NHS Blood & Transplant, East Kent Hospitals, said in a statement on Westgate Halls website: “We are so grateful to Westgate Hall for being there for us at all times, accommodating us at short notice and always meeting all of our needs.”

Donated blood has various different uses including helping those fighting conditions such as cancer and blood disorders, as well as those in an emergency.

The NHS are currently requesting more young people aged 17- 35 to donate to ensure there is enough blood for the future.

Darcie Lilley,20, who has been donating blood since she was a teenager said: “Every single time I’ve gone I’ve been one of the youngest people that shows up, I don’t think donating blood is spoken about in a neutral way for younger people to want to donate.”

This year in February the NHS Blood and Transplant campaign in London was backed by London’s Air Ambulance, London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade in order to provide more donation slots.

The NHS in England remains on amber alert for low blood stocks, with both O negative and B negative blood remaining under intense pressure. Further donations are urgently needed to keep these types in good supply.

Ms Lilley continued: “It’s a way of giving back, it’s something you’ll always have, you can donate that pint of blood and your body would just remake it, whereas for someone else it could be the thing that saves their life.”

For more details and to book an appointment visit blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23 alternatively download the NHSgiveblood app.