Three generations all received the gift of life saving blood transfusions

Baby Isabella Mackay will celebrate her first Christmas thanks to receiving an emergency transfusion when she was born.

Isabella has followed her gran Donna Webster, 61, and mum Lauren Webster, 35, who all have Scotland’s blood donors to thank for being alive.

Scotland needs 15,000 people to give the perfect gift this Christmas and donate blood over the festive period. To give blood, head to the Scotblood website where you can check your eligibility, sign up, and book an appointment to donate or call 0345 90 90 999 (Monday to Friday 9am-5pm).

Donna, who lives in Blairgowrie, said: “Isabella was born in January 2024 and received emergency blood straight after her delivery.

'I received blood after the birth of Lauren. Lauren then needed blood aged 15 due to sepsis.

'She has now become a mother herself to baby Isabella.

'This means we have three happy and healthy generations in our family, all thanks to blood donors. Looking forward to Isabella's first Christmas this year is particularly poignant.

'We'd like to remind donors that your gift keeps on giving for many years - or in our case many generations.

'We cannot thank you all enough. We would like to encourage everyone to consider giving blood, platelets or plasma this Christmas.'

We cannot thank you all enough. We would like to encourage everyone to consider giving blood, platelets or plasma this Christmas. Gran, Donna Webster

Debbie McNaughton, Associate Director of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS), said: 'There are currently 96,726 blood donors in Scotland. Whilst we are very grateful to them, our donor base still has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. It is very important we welcome more new donors.  

'We’d also love to welcome younger donors – you can start giving blood age 17, but we notice up to 50 per cent fewer 17-year-olds coming forward from five years ago. As Scotland faces an ageing population, this poses a significant challenge.'

Debbie added: 'This year we’re also excited to launch an additional campaign for people to donate plasma for medicines, which can be used to treat over 50 diseases, including babies with haemolytic disease – an inherited condition which affects red blood cells.

'Currently, we have 800 plasma donors in Scotland and we hope to welcome another 1,000 plasma donors in the next 12 months. You can donate plasma in any of our blood donor centres in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

'As we move into thoughts of New Year resolutions, there can be no better commitment to make.' 

Debbie concludes, 'Maintaining a safe and regular supply of blood to hospitals is our top priority. The need for blood does not take a rest, and we will be collecting blood on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and Hogmanay. We are asking people to take time out of their busy schedules on these dates. We look forward to welcoming you soon.'

To check your eligibility and to book an appointment, visit our website or contact us at nss.snbtsenquiry@nhs.scot or by calling 0345 90 90 999.