Highland parents say blood donors saved their lives

An Ardersier mum says she thought she was going to die, after losing nearly all the blood in her body.

Kate MacRae suffered a massive postpartum haemorrhage after giving birth to her second daughter Abigail earlier this year.

The 29-year-old says she lost between four and four and a half litres of blood.

She then received 12 blood transfusions from 12 people across Scotland, which saved her life.

Her husband, Mike, who has Colitis, also received a lifesaving transfusion when he was just 18.

It's as the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) are urging for more new donors to come forward.

'We thought I was going to die'

Kate says neither her nor Mike thought she was going to make it through the ordeal.

She said: "It was terrifying, I was in a lot of pain.

"We didn't know what was happening.

"We both thought I was going to die.

"Even with the best surgeon in the world, I think if you lose that much blood without replacing it then there's not much chance of survival."

Blood donation "best thing you can give" this Christmas

Kate admitted she wasn't a blood donor before suffering the haemorrhage, but desperately wishes she had been.

She added: "You never think it's going to happen to you until it does and if I could go back now and tell myself to just free up an hour of my day to save somebody's life 100% I would do it.

"That's why I feel so passionate about asking people to just take that time out of their "day.

"Every time I look at my little girls I think, I almost wasn't here for this. There's a real possibility my girls would've grown up without a mother.

“We just want to say thank you to everyone who gives blood, in particular the people who gave blood for Mike, and the twelve people who gave blood and blood products for me.

"I lost nearly all the blood in my body, there’s no doubt that without those people my children wouldn’t have a mother, and my husband wouldn’t have a wife.

“It’s the best thing you could give this Christmas."

3,300 blood donors needed per week

During the Pandemic (from 2019 to 2020), active blood donors in Scotland fell from over 105,000 to fewer than 92,000. This is a real-time reduction of nearly 13% meaning 13,000 fewer people gave blood in a single year.

Although the donor base has started to rebuild in 2021 and Scotland now has 96,000 active blood donors, SNBTS are asking new donors to come forward over the festive period, or those who have got out of the habit to return and donate.

Dr Sylvia Armstrong-Fisher, SNBTS said: "During the pandemic, NHS Scotland relied on commitment from existing donors who gave very regularly.

"We’d like to thank all of these people who supported us at such an important time. However, alongside the natural lifecycle of blood donors retiring every day, this led to the community of active donors shrinking to its lowest level since records began.

"We need to welcome 3,300 donors per week to ensure blood supplies remain at safe levels and, with fewer people donating regularly, we want to welcome 50 new or returning blood donors every single day over the festive and Winter period.

“During the pandemic we have made many positive changes to blood collection, to make giving blood as easy as possible for donors.

"We are now offering more weekend sessions in our donor centres, and have opened our flagship donor centre in Livingston, which is now welcoming over 800 donors a month.

"Maintaining a safe and regular supply of blood to hospitals is our top priority."

To book an appointment to give blood or for more info click here.