MY STORY

Leonie Rennie: Senior Assistant Visual Merchandiser Manager•Products•Next Retail 

My grandmother gave blood for years and became a life long donor.  I'd thought about doing it for years and then one day thought, 'I'm going to help other people'.  It wasn't until I gave blood that I knew my blood type.  A- which is quite a rare one with only 6% of the population having it,  so I'm classed as a priority case when I donate.

It doesn't hurt and takes no longer than 10 minutes - but it goes a long way to help more than one person from a pint.  The journey of donated blood is interesting and is split into different categories and helps multiple people.  One of the things I look forward to is the text you get in the following weeks telling you where your blood ended up.  Last time I ended up in an Oxford hospital.  I've been all over the UK, including Jersey!

If you're thinking about it - book an appointment and join the club.  Blood levels are low so let's help each other.

Leonie Birtle     14 donations, bronze badge holder