Last weekend Ram Quarter hosted a blood donor drive for NHSBT (NHS Blood & Transplant).  Residents from the development, and more widely from Wandsworth borough's local community, were able to help save lives by registering throughout the day to donate blood and plasma.  The original intention had been to run the event in an eye-catching gazebo which was to be erected for the day in Bubbling Well Square at the heart of Ram Quarter.  But windy conditions on the day meant that the location had to be replanned.  We are enormously grateful to flexible workspace operator HomeWork for generously stepping in and enabling the event to proceed indoors in its premises which open onto the square.

NHS staff were on hand throughout the day for one-to-one conversations to answer questions about the donation process and eligibility, and to help people book appointments to donate.  As a token of appreciation for each registrant NHSBT offered prospective donors an on-the-spot finger-prick blood type test to reveal their likely blood type.

Blood and plasma donations are a great way to help people in emergency situations, as well as fighting cancers, blood disorders, immune disorders and genetic conditions.  Most people can donate, provided they are generally fit and healthy, are aged between 17 and 65, and weigh between 50kg and 158kg.  Black and Asian donors are always particularly welcome, due to high demand for blood types more common in those groups, and for the higher prevalence of the universal blood type.

The registrations achieved at Ram Quarter will help the NHS to save many more lives, and Greenland and the tenants of Ram Quarter look forward to continuing to support NHSBT's important work.

If you would like to register to donate blood, or learn more about donating blood, please visit < blood.co.uk >