Donation champion

A delivery driver who has donated his 75th pint of blood wants to raise awareness of the life-saving service among colleagues.

Gary Townsend, who is based out of Home Counties North Delivery Office in Hemel Hempstead, has been giving blood since he was 18 years old.

‘It started when a mobile unit visited my workplace and I’ve continued ever since,’ he said. ‘It’s doing something good for people.

Gary, who has worked with Royal Mail for 12 years, now gives blood four times a year, but says the service desperately needs more donors.

‘Only 4% of people who can give blood do and a lot of those people are over 40 years old. Younger people don’t seem to know about it,’ he said.

More recently, whenever Gary gives blood, he is told which hospital his donation has gone to. ‘Whether it’s for cancer patients or for blood transfusions, it’s great to know it’s helping,’ he said.

‘It’s a painless experience, it takes around an hour, and the great thing is you get tea and biscuits afterwards. You meet amazing people and the staff look after you very well.’

For more information on giving blood or to find out where to donate visit www.blood.co.uk.