Heather Gunson, Mental Health Nursing student donates blood at Trinity Square
Nottingham students are being urged to become blood donors at the city’s new donor centre which opened recently.
NHS Blood and Transplant needs more than 1,000 new blood donors in the city over the next year and is urging students to become donors and share their donation photos using #Nottingham1000.
Holly Mason, Lead Donor Relations Manager at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Nottingham is a young, vibrant city with a large student population. We need these students to become the blood donors of the future to replace those who can longer donate for reasons such as ill health, pregnancy and foreign travel.
“The donor centre is right in the city centre within walking distance of a number of student accommodation blocks so giving blood will be easy and convenient.
“And this is a chance to start making a difference to the community - every time someone donates blood they save or improve the lives of up to three people.”
Heather Gunson, 24, a University of Nottingham Mental Health Nursing student, donated blood on the opening day at Trinity Square.
She said: “I’ve been donating blood for five years, to save lives and support people as much as possible. We should all support each other as much as possible and you can do something like this which takes 15 minutes but has such fantastic results in someone’s life.”
Emma Frudd, 24, from Netherfield, has been a blood donor since she was 18 and is studying Mental Health Nursing at the University of Nottingham.
She said: “The new centre is really nice and it’s a lot easier to get to. I just think giving blood is an easy to way to do good.”
Zoë Nicholson, 24, from Beeston, has just registered to become a donor at Trinity Square and is studying Mental Health Nursing at the University of Nottingham.
She said: “I’ve wanted to do it for quite a while and this seemed like the right time.”
NHSBT has built the donor centre in Nottingham partly because it has such a large population of students and young people. There are around 60,000 students enrolled at the city’s two universities and people who start donating before the age of 26 are likely to keep donating for the rest of their life - saving lives for many years to come.
The modern new blood donor centre is in Trinity Square - close to public transport links and within easy walking distance of several student halls of accommodation.
The new Nottingham donor centre is above TK Maxx and PC World. Donors will be able to enjoy free Wifi, spacious waiting areas, and nine modern and comfortable donation beds. New donors can still enjoy the traditional free refreshments including tea, coffee and biscuits.
Blood is used in accidents and emergencies but also during surgery and treatment for cancer and blood disorders, like sickle cell anaemia. It is also used in maternity care.
The new centre will replace the existing blood donor centre in Castle Quay.
To find out more about blood donation, to register as a donor and to book an appointment to give blood, visit www.blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.
It is also easy to book through mobile apps for Windows, Android and Apple devices. To download the app, search 'NHSGiveBlood' in the app store.
Posted on Monday 1st June 2015