A Scots mum has issued an urgent plea after their daughter was given 10 life-saving blood transfusions after being diagnosed with cancer.
Louise Pennington, 39, hadn't been concerned when her then six-year-old daughter Freya first complained of knee pain last year.
It was only when Freya was sent home from school with possible Covid symptoms but tested negative that Louise knew 'something didn't add up'.
The youngster's pain had also spread to both knees, sparking concerns with her GP who sent her to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for blood tests.
But Louise and her husband Adam, from Giffnock, were left devastated when doctors diagnosed Freya with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia on November 5.
Little Freya spent a month in hospital after diagnosis.
She underwent gruelling rounds of chemotherapy that left her in desperate need of blood transfusions.
The schoolgirl, now aged 7, received ten life-saving transfusions over this period and was given between five and 10 pints of blood.
Speaking to the Daily Record, Louise said: "It was a mixture of platelets and blood. The chemotherapy kills everything, the good and the bad blood cells, it strips the immune system and everything back to the bare bones.
"She got daily finger pricks where they could tell her platelet levels and haemoglobin levels and if it fell below the minimum she would need a transfusion.
"It seemed to happen all the time."
The 39-year-old added: "When I donated blood I always had in my head it was car crashes and childbirth where people needed blood but it didn't actually dawn on me that cancer and leukaemia patients need so much blood, with a large per cent of donations going to them.
"It's mind-blowing."
Louise, a retail manager, was left in awe at the impact blood donations had on her little girl and recalls one day in particular.
The mum-of-three said: “One day Freya really wasn’t well from the side effects of treatment. She was lethargic, very sick, she had lots of mouth ulcers and sores.
"The doctor could tell, just by looking at her, she would need a blood transfusion that day.
“Watching her it hit me, the enormity, that someone had given their blood and Freya would feel a bit better afterwards. I had an overwhelming sense of gratitude that someone had donated this for Freya to feel better.
"It wasn’t a tablet created in a lab, but a real person who had made her better. I just wanted to say thank you to anyone who had given up their time to donate.”
Louise is now among those urging people to give blood after the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) revealed Scots hospitals are currently supplied by the smallest pool of blood donors this century.
Scots are being asked to register as a blood donor, or to return and donate if they have not given for a while.
It comes after the pandemic saw active blood donors in Scotland plummet by nearly 13 per cent in a single year, from over 105,000 to fewer than 92,000 between 2019 to 2020.
Louise said: "The pandemic has taken away so much from us but people still have cancer and leukaemia and give birth and are involved in accidents, that doesn't stop.
"I would urge anyone who has given blood before, who hasn't in a while, or is on the fence, to do it and take the plunge and donate."
You can book an appointment to give blood in Scotland using the online portal here.
While the SNBTS say the donor base is beginning to rebuild in 2021, with 96,000 active blood donors now in Scotland, new and previous donors are being asked to come forward over the festive period.
Dr Sylvia Armstrong-Fisher, SNBTS says, “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. Thank you to everyone who has supported patients in Scotland over the past two years. We look forward to welcoming you soon. Please join this amazing club today and book an appointment to support Scotland’s patients over the Festive period and into the new year.”
