TWO blood donors from West Devon were rewarded for their dedication at a special ceremony last Wednesday (March 26).
Dianne Hartley-Russell from Okehampton and Anthony Gordon from Petrockstowe received awards for contributing more than 75 donations of blood ? Dianne with 77 and Anthony with 75.
The award ceremony was held at Woodbury Park near Exeter and 20 donors were able to enjoy a tour of the park before receiving their awards and tucking into a three-course meal.
Debra Davies, National Blood Service communications officer, said they were ?very special?.
?Their dedication and total commitment to saving lives is amazing. Many of the donors receiving an award have been giving their vital pint for the past 20 years,? she said.
One person who attended to say thank you was 13-year-old Joanne Keenan, who was the guest of honour at the ceremony. Joanne, from Exmouth, was diagnosed with Leukaemia in January 2000 and received vast quantities of blood and platelets, sometimes on a daily basis, as part of her treatment.
Joanne finished her treatment a year ago and is doing well.
She is back at school and, apart from regular check-ups, life is back to normal.
Joanne?s mother Debbie said: ?We all take this blood, so it?s lovely to have the opportunity to say thank you. It?s also nice for donors to see that they really do save lives by meeting people who have benefited from blood transfusions.?
To meet hospital demand, 10,000 units of blood every day need to be collected, but currently only 6% of those able to give blood actually do so.
Information on becoming a blood donor is available on 0845 7 711 711.
Session details are on the NBS website at http://www.blood.co.uk">www.blood.co.uk or Ceefax BBC 2 page 465.