When Philip Wolfson suggested his son meet up with him in town for a pint, 17-year-old Colin didn’t realise he’d be giving, rather than receiving.
That was the day 16 years ago when Colin joined his dad and other members of his family in becoming one of the 92,000 people in Scotland who currently save or improve the lives of three people – simply by making one donation of blood.
But that amounts to only three per cent of the population who are eligible to donate.
Philip was a young man working in the finance department at the rail depot at St Rollox in the 1970s when the blood donation bus made its twice-yearly visit and invited workers to donate.
He explained: “There were 2500 people working there at that time, and the guys were quite happy to get off their work to make a donation.
“The van came round and it just seemed like a really good idea.”
In the 36 years he worked at the rail depot, Philip made a point of donating blood regularly.
Since he retired in 2009, he and wife Audrey take the train from Burnside to Glasgow every three months to donate at the Blood Donor Centre in Nelson Mandela Place.
Over the years, 65-year-old Philip has made no fewer than 152 donations, with Audrey’s donations total approaching 80.
In normal times, Philip would have been invited to an awards ceremony held in Glasgow City Chambers to recognise people like him who have reached a milestone in the number of donations they have made.
He was instead delighted to receive a postal gift from the Blood Transfusion Service recently to mark 150 donations.
As well as Colin, who is now 33, the couple’s other son, Adam, 26, is a blood donor, as is Audrey’s sister.
And with the need to improve blood stocks more pressing than ever, Philip says that all measures are in place during the pandemic to keep people who donate – and the key workers from the Blood Transfusion Service – safe during sessions.
“I have donated two or three times since last March, and there’s been no problem,” said Philip, a past president and treasurer of Burnside Bowling Club. “It is quite easy now, because it is an online booking system.
“You just go at your appointed time – but not early, to avoid too many people waiting around.
“Everyone’s very friendly and you get a nice cup of tea or whatever you want afterwards.
“It’s all well sanitised and perfectly safe. I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t given blood before to do so.
“In these times especially, it’s a good thing to do.
