Orkney sees first blood donations since 2009
The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service has held its first blood donation session in Kirkwall since 2009.
81 Orcadians came to give blood at the Pickaquoy Centre yesterday, and another 173 are booked in to give blood tomorrow and Wednesday.
First time donor, Steph Scollie is booked in to give blood on Wednesday. She says, 'I'm really excited about being able to give blood in Orkney. Last time it was available was about 16 years ago and I wasn't old enough. I think it's great!'
Orkney MSP Liam McArthur, who gave blood on Monday, said: 'After many years of campaigning for SNBTS to make a return to Orkney, I was absolutely delighted to have had the opportunity to give blood at the donation drive at the Picky this morning.
'I was also delighted but not surprised to hear that the response from the Orkney public has been exceptionally positive and the Picky was certainly busy today.'
Dr Sylvia Armstrong-Fisher, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service Head of Territory for the Northern Arch, said:
"Today's session went brilliantly, and it’s testament to the generosity of Orcadians how quickly the appointments filled up. Since the end of the Covid pandemic, we have revised our collection footprint strategy and testing out more local donation opportunities for rural communities. We have had lots of requests from donors and stakeholders to return to Orkney and are pleased to have collaborated with them as part of this Pilot.
'Holding donation sessions in the Northern Isles comes with a unique set of challenges. To meet regulatory requirements, every donation must be transported back to Edinburgh to be processed, and components placed into controlled temperature storage within 24 hours of donating - and for some components this reduces to 20 hours. That’s why our Kirkwall sessions are being held earlier in the day, allowing us to rapidly return your donation each afternoon by ferry.
'We'll be reviewing every aspect of the Orkney pilot collection to inform the decision making over inclusion of Orkney in future North of Scotland annual collection programmes.
'But in the meantime, all I really want to say is thank you – on behalf of myself, the Service, and patients in Scotland.'
- Keep up to date with blood donation news at www.scotblood.co.uk