Bedford man donates blood for 100th time and asks others to do it too

A Bedford man who first donated blood in 1983 has now made his 100th donation and is asking others to “do the same if you can”.

Terry Anstee donated his first pint of blood on his 17th birthday. 30 years later he has reached the incredible milestone of donating 100 pints which the NHS says will have helped 300 people.

“I became a donor to help others, as you never know when a family member, friend or colleague will need to receive blood,” said Terry.

His son, Luke says his dad “wouldn’t ordinarily like the attention” but he wanted to see him recognised for the achievement.

The NHS say they need 4,300 blood donations every day on average to meet the needs of their hospitals and they particularly need black heritage donors.

This is to meet the growing demand for ethnically matched blood for sickle cell patients who need regular transfusions to stay alive

In general, as long as you are fit and healthy, weigh over seven stone (12 lbs or 50kg) and are aged between 17 and 66 (up to 70 if you have given blood before), you should be able to give blood.

If you are over 70, you need to have given blood in the last two years to continue donating.

“Please donate blood if you can it only takes an hour and can help so many people of all ages who need an operation or transfusion,” adds Terry.

To register or book an appointment go online at blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23. You can also search ‘NHSGiveBlood’ in the Google or iPhone app store to find and book sessions.