Grantham man donates blood for 150th time

A retired heating engineer has donated his 150th pint of blood.

Dave Charles, 74 and from Grantham, donated his first pint of blood at 18 years old in 1967.

He continued to donate blood for the next 58 years, never missing a donation, and celebrated his 150th donation on January 20 at the Urban Hotel in Swingbridge Road.

“I am not a hero or anything, I am just trying to get people to go and donate blood,” said Dave, a retired heating engineer.

He added: “By donating it saves lives. I always thought it was a good idea, it was not an idea through anyone I lost, but it does a lot of good.”

Since first donating in 1967, Dave says there have been many changes over the years when he has donated.

He added: “It has really changed. You used to get a cup of tea after, but you don’t get that anymore.

“They have cut things back. Also, they used to give you an injection before to numb your arm but now they don’t give you a thing.

“It still hurts when I go, but I still keep going.”

When he donated his 150th pint, Dave felt “fantastic”.

He said: “All the nurses were gathered around me. They are wonderful nurses, most of them I have known for around 30 years.”

Dave hopes his continued dedication to donating blood will encourage others to do the same.

He added: “I haven’t done it out of the goodness of my heart or anything, it is just something that needs to be done.

“If someone says to me they don’t want to donate blood, I say ‘if you were knocked down on the A1 and you needed blood, would you take it?’

“I just want to encourage more people to donate blood. It is not for me, it is for the people bleeding to death.”

Anyone who would like to donate blood can find out more at https://www.blood.co.uk/.

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