Colin's story

Colin is a platelet donor from Fife. He tells us why giving blood and platelets is so important to him.

"My wife Susan and I started donating together when we first got married 25 years ago. Although to be honest, we weren’t very organised and our donating was sporadic at best. In 1999, Susan gave birth to our eldest son Thomas. A few hours after the birth however, Susan experienced a prolapsed uterus and without the provision of three units given by a generous (and organised) stranger, we may have lost what turned out to be the best mum in the world.

"I was so grateful to the person that took the time to give blood and save my wife’s life that I started donating whole blood regularly. My work has always been incredibly supportive, and I’d check in on the mobile unit schedule and attend fairly close to every 12 weeks around many of the sites in Fife. When my son Thomas was around seven years old, I started coaching his youth football team and had a happy chat with the father of our goalkeeper. His son had just attended his last treatment for leukaemia and he mentioned him receiving platelets. Platelet donation was something I knew little about, but I enquired about my eligibility when I next donated whole blood and was delighted to be accepted on the platelet panel.

"I make my way from Fife to Edinburgh Donor Centre on Lauriston Place every four weeks, usually later in the afternoon on a Thursday. Parking is easy and it is genuinely a really relaxing hour or so. The staff are a lively and delightful bunch who make me feel incredibly proud to usually manage triple donation each time. All in all, I find the whole experience of donating hugely rewarding and an aspect of my life I am incredibly proud of. Especially when my son gave his first whole blood donation once he became 17 earlier this year. Thanks for giving me the chance to feel as good as I do whenever I donate."

Huge thanks to Colin for your commitment and ongoing support. We hope you and all the family have a very merry Christmas and a great new year!

• Do you want to find out more about platelet donation? Have a look at our platelets page.