A GENEROUS giver is celebrating a whole year of life-saving donations.
Earlier this month, Sheila Fogarty visited the Reading Plasma Donor centre to help the centre mark its first anniversary.
The plasma will be made into immunoglobulins, medicines which boost or stabilise the immune systems of people with rare, life-threatening disorders.
Over the first 12 months, a total of 4,300 donations have been made, by more than 1,700 people. Ms Fogerty has given the most.
The 57-year-old accountant from Eton Wick in Windsor started donating for coronavirus research and then switched to donating plasma for medicines.
“I just wanted to give something back,” she said. “The ladies in the donor centre explained how it helps people which is really interesting.
“The plasma donation itself is fine. I’d given blood for years so I knew it was not uncomfortable.
“I just think with donating, that you never know when you might need it yourself, and it helps other people when they need it.
“I will keep donating for as long as I can.”
Plasma donation to the NHS restarted last April after more than 20 years. The halt was put in place as a precautionary measure against Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The restriction was lifted by the Government in 2021.
Paula Ussher, manager of Reading Plasma Donor Centre, which is in Kennet Street, off Kings Road, said: “We’re grateful to Lindsay and everyone else who has donated over this incredible first year. Plasma donation is new to most people, so try it if you can – you’ll help save lives.”
To donate, call 0300 123 23 23 or visit www.blood.co.uk/plasma
