Set to save 100 lives, Britain’s ONLY donor of rarest blood

A MOTHER who is Britain’s sole registered donor for her rare blood group has been told she is on track to save as many as 100 lives.

Sue Olds, 52, is the only one out of 830,860 listed NHS blood donors who has ‘–D–’ blood, pronounced ‘dash D dash’.

The type is extremely scarce worldwide, with only 110 donors registered on the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory database – of whom 80 per cent live in Japan.

As a result the mother-of-one, from St Just, Cornwall, donates blood every 16 weeks, with two units already having been issued to a baby.

Her donations are so valuable that they are now being stored long-term in the National Frozen Blood Bank in Liverpool.

And the NHS Blood and Transplant said that if she continues to donate blood throughout her life, she will eventually save or improve the lives of 100 patients.

Mrs Olds, pictured, who works in community rehabilitation for the NHS, said: ‘I enjoy donating. The session staff are extremely caring, they always make me feel welcome. It’s a positive experience with no need to be anxious. When the blood goes off I have a really good feeling that I am helping someone.’

Type –D– is considered the rarest and most valuable blood that can be donated, and it can be given to patients with other rare blood types. But if Mrs Olds is transfused with a different type of blood, she could have severe or even fatal reaction.

Mrs Olds has been donating blood since 1994, but it was not until this year that she learned she is the UK’s only donor of her group. ‘As soon as I finish one appointment I’ll be on the phone booking my next,’ Mrs Olds told The Daily Mirror.

‘It’s really nothing – just one hour of your day every four months. I know that it will be of benefit to people who have been in road traffic accidents or those who are giving birth, for example.’

The NHS is appealing for new donors, particularly ethnic minorities, who are more likely to have rare blood types.

Mike Stredder, of NHS Blood and Transplant, added: ‘We have an increasingly diverse population which means we need increasingly diverse blood donors. Our very rare donors like Sue are invaluable.’