Give Blood 4 Good (GB4G) was founded in 2019 after twenty-one-year-old Edinburgh University student Patrick Smith lost his life.
Patrick was incredibly passionate about giving blood, which he did as soon as he was eligible on his 17th birthday.
GB4G was created in Patrick’s legacy to carry on his drive for blood donations. The charity aims to raise awareness, specifically around young people, about the importance of donating blood.
Recently, the team representing Edinburgh’s branch of GB4G (who call themselves the Bloody Brilliant Uni Squad) have been putting their efforts into inspiring students to donate blood.
A library stall on Monday 30th January saw 70 people signing up to give blood within the next few months. The team were keen to emphasise that one blood donation can save or improve up to three lives – meaning that 210 lives could be saved by those who signed up to give blood at the library stall.
But the team didn’t stop there. The following evening, the group presented a ‘Bloody Brilliant GB4G Presentation’ in partnership with the groups Amnesty, Girl Up and Women in Politics and International Relations. The talk covered a brief history of blood donation in the UK, from the first successful blood transfusion carried out by Dr Richard Lower in 1665 between two dogs to organisations like Scotblood that exist today. Blood donation has come a long way, with technology and advancements allowing people to see current blood stock levels across Scotland every day.
The team went on to talk about blood donations during the AIDS crisis in the 1980’s, and how things have changed for the LGBTQ+ community today. Scotland recently changed its restrictions on blood donation, with people now assessed based on their individual risk rather than their sexuality – a significant step forward and something that GB4G are delighted about.
I asked two members of the Bloody Brilliant Uni Squad team about why they believe so passionately in giving blood and raising awareness about it.
Maddie, one of the members, said:
“Giving blood is such a special activity for me because it is such an easy and simple way to do something good for the world.
“I feel like so many people want to do good and create changes but feel small in comparison to the vast and complex problems in the world.
“I got involved with GB4G to help young people recognize that giving blood is one of the easiest and most straightforward ways to help people and create positive change.”
Another member of the group, Eliza, told me:
“I was lucky that my high school ran a blood drive, so I got introduced to the giving blood process aged 17. But when I got to university I was surprised that so many students had never even thought about giving blood, even though there is a centre 5 minutes from campus!
“This squad has given me the amazing opportunity to show students how easy it is to give, and how important too. Sometimes people just aren’t introduced to it, so it’s crucial that our squad is here to do that!”
Another aim of the charity is to highlight exactly who needs your blood.
Twenty-year-old Glasgow Caledonian University student Luke Malcolmson is one such example.
Luke has been undergoing chemotherapy along with multiple blood transfusions since being diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia blood cancer in October last year. In just five weeks of treatment Luke has received over sixty blood products. The average length of treatment for the blood cancer that he has is two years, which means he will need a countless number of blood transfusions in this time.
Becky, a current student at the University of Edinburgh, described her life-threatening experience, and how blood donations helped save her life.
“In December 2021, I was admitted into Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with a life-threatening gastrointestinal bleed. After losing half of my total blood volume and my haemoglobin falling to 58 (normal 120-160), I remained in hospital for two weeks. This time involved multiple investigations and procedures, including several blood transfusions, which meant I could finally get to the point of standing up without passing out. It’s no exaggeration that these blood transfusions helped save my life.
As a healthy, active, twenty-year-old student in her second year with no previous health issues, this whole experience was absolutely terrifying. However, it also seriously opened my eyes to the importance of blood donation. Although I am now unable to donate, I will forever be grateful and in awe of those who do. I will always encourage those who wish to donate or have ever thought about donating to get in touch Give Blood 4 Good – you never know who you might be helping.”
With blood donations falling to their lowest levels this century in 2021, it’s essential that GB4G can help as many people as possible who need your life saving blood donation.
To find out more about how you can donate, visit giveblood4good.org and follow the team on social media @giveblood4good.
Image credit attributed to author.