#40thingsfor40

Five best friends who first gave blood together after a school talk, celebrated turning 40 this year by donating blood again.

The five, who attended Harris Academy in Dundee, met up to give blood at Dundee Blood Donor Centre on Sunday.

Claire Franingham (now a local Business Manager at Morgan Academy) explained,'The five of us are forty this year. We've been best friends since school and started giving blood when we were in sixth year. We've made a list of 40 things we have to do this year which we've called #40thingsfor40, and giving blood was the top of the list - we'd kind of got out the way of doing it.

'Unfortunately only four of us can give blood now as Pamela was diagnosed with cancer. Rachel, Kerry and myself all booked an appointment to give blood at Dundee Dundee Blood Donor Centre and Lindsey booked into Aberdeen Blood Donor Centre.'

Claire continued, 'I'm very keen to raise awareness for the need for blood and encourage others to come along. I've arranged for the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service to visit my school later this year in September, allowing senior pupils and staff the chance to give blood. This is something I hope to promote, and welcome the service every year to encourage more people to give blood for the first time.'

• If, like Claire and her pals, you’d like to encourage your friends, family, work or club to book in to give blood at one of our six donors centres in either Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness, we'd love to see you.  For further details please contact us on 0345 90 90 999 or get in touch online.