Three generations of Scottish family all receive same life-changing blood treatment

Three generations of one Scottish family have thanked generous donors after receiving life-changing blood transfusions.

Baby Isabella Mackay will soon celebrate her first Christmas, thanks to receiving an emergency blood transfusion after her birth in January. She is following the footsteps of her grandmother, Donna Webster, and mum Lauren Webster, who both received donations in the past.

When giving birth to Lauren, now 35, Donna, 61, received emergency blood - and when Lauren was 15, she experienced a case of sepsis that required a transfusion.

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Donna, who lives in Blairgowrie, said: "Isabella was born in January 2024 and received emergency blood straight after her delivery. I received blood after the birth of Lauren. Lauren then needed blood due to sepsis 15 years later.

"She has now become a mother herself to baby Isabella. This means we have three happy and healthy generations in our family, all thanks to blood donors."

The family have shared their thanks to the NHS and to the generous donors who saved their lives. They hope by sharing their story, they can encourage more people to donate blood this holiday season - as Scottish health services aim to get 15,000 donors this festive period.

"Looking forward to Isabella's first Christmas this year is particularly poignant," said Donna.

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"We'd like to remind donors that your gift keeps on giving for many years - or in our case many generations.

"We cannot thank you all enough. We would like to encourage everyone to consider giving blood, platelets or plasma this Christmas."

Debbie McNaughton, Associate Director of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS), said: "There are currently 96,726 blood donors in Scotland.

"While we are very grateful to them, our donor base still has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. It is very important we welcome more new donors.

"We'd also love to welcome younger donors - you can start giving blood age 17, but we notice up to 50 per cent fewer 17-year-olds coming forward from five years ago. As Scotland faces an ageing population, this poses a significant challenge."

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Debbie added: "This year we're also excited to launch an additional campaign for people to donate plasma for medicines, which can be used to treat over 50 diseases, including babies with haemolytic disease - an inherited condition which affects red blood cells.

"Currently, we have 800 plasma donors in Scotland and we hope to welcome another 1,000 plasma donors in the next 12 months. You can donate plasma in any of our blood donor centres in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

"As we move into thoughts of New Year resolutions, there can be no better commitment to make."

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

"The need for blood does not take a rest, and we will be collecting blood on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and Hogmanay.

"We are asking people to take time out of their busy schedules on these dates. We look forward to welcoming you soon."