Aberfeldy blood donation service closes its doors
Blood donors in Highland Perthshire will be turned away from Aberfeldy in future after the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS ) revealed it is to stop collecting at Breadalbane Community Campus.
Any residents of Aberfeldy wishing to give blood will now need to travel to Pitlochry instead.
Keyhole surgery – where almost no blood is lost during operations – has led to less demand for blood and the national body SNBTS has been looking at how it goes about collecting supplies for transfusion most cost effectively.
A SNBTS spokesperson blamed a missed target for donors turning up in Aberfledy last summer for the relocation plan.
They said: “In July 2019, we hoped to welcome 65 donors to Aberfeldy, but only 52 donors were able to attend.
“Therefore, the decision has been taken to ask donors to attend Pitlochry if they can.
“We also have many other donating opportunities across Scotland, including Dundee Donor Centre which is open three days a week.
“Our decision to adjust the blood collection programme is part of a wide-ranging modernisation programme that will ensure Scotland continues to benefit from a world-leading blood collection service that delivers best value for everyone.
“Achieving the best value per unit of blood collected means we deliver best value for the NHS.
“Savings generated by this change can be reinvested in new technologies and new services, as well as modernising a n d improving our existing services.
“We would like to thank everyone who has previously given blood in Aberfeldy.
“We greatly appreciate their contribution to safeguarding the health of families and communities across Scotland. “As we will no longer return to Aberfeldy, we warmly invite all donors to donate in Pitlochry, where we will be visiting on March 3 and October 26. To book your appointment for Pitlochry, please call us on 0345 90 90 999.
“We would like to thank all donors for your understanding.
“To find out where you can donate, please visit www. scotblood.co.uk.”
Highland ward councillor Mike Williamson (pictured), himself a regular blood donor, voiced concern at the change of collection location from Aberfeldy to Pitlochry.
He said: “It is entirely regrettable that the Scottish Blood Transfusion service has taken this decision to only collect blood in Highland Perthshire from Pitlochry, whilst still actively recruiting new donors to the service.
“I am concerned about the long-term viability for the blood donating service in Highland
Perthshire as people will get out of the habit of donating blood in rural areas, with people now expected to travel long distances in order to donate.
“It is a shame that the service has identified the high cost of transportation and venue costs as a reason for the removal of this service.
“I would hope that the blood transfusion service will revisit this service reduction in the very near future.”
Cllr Williamson revealed that over the years he had given about 50 pints of blood and suggested that if people in Aberfeldy felt strongly enough about the wind up of blood collection there, they would need to mount some kind of campaign.