Steelworkers’ helping arms boost blood stocks
14 Feb 2008
Workers at Corus Port Talbot have been credited with helping avert potential problems in Wales’s hospitals caused by plummeting blood supplies.
The steelworkers have helped return the blood stocks situation to normal after breaking the plant’s record for the number of donations made in a single session.
The Welsh Blood Service had launched an appeal for donors after high levels of flu and other winter viruses immediately after Christmas had caused many donors to miss their regular sessions.
And numerous hospital wards were closed to new admissions as a result of the norovirus and other diarrhoea and vomiting bugs.
But Corus’s staff contributed to shoring up supplies after almost 300 of them offered a helping arm when the Blood Service took its mobile donation unit to Port Talbot.
The total number of workers who volunteered to give blood was 299, with 266 actually making donations – 29 more than the previous highest figure recorded from the twice-yearly visits to the works.
The Blood Service was also delighted to have three people who gave blood samples signing up to join the Welsh Bone Marrow Register.
“It was exceptional to have almost 300 people to come forward to donate blood from Corus Port Talbot,” said WBS Marketing Officer Charlie Lloyd. “Our blood supplies were particularly low at the time, and to have this number of people willing to donate gave our stocks a much needed boost.
“With the blood donations received from Corus, we were able to ensure that the 16 hospitals in Wales continued to receive the 600 units of blood that are required on a daily basis. These are needed for cancer patients, maternity wards, burns victims and both emergency and planned operations.
“We would like to thank everyone at the plant for their continued vital support - it’s record numbers like this that have helped us.”
Robert Dangerfield, spokesman for Corus Strip Products UK, said: “We have a strong tradition of supporting the Welsh Blood Service at Corus sites and we have an equally strong culture of individuals playing their part under the support of the company as a whole. We are very proud to have broken our record.”
The Welsh Blood Service still needs 600 donations a day to keep stocks at healthy levels. For further information on giving blood, please call the freephone number 0800 252266, or visit the website www.welshblood.org.uk
