LETTER:A blood service to be proud of?

From Mrs Eileen Chandler

Sir: Does Angela Robinson, the medical director of the National Blood Authority, really feel she "has a blood service to be proud of" (letter, 16 January)?

I am a blood donor living in a small market town where there are many other would-be donors. Many of them, however, have no transport, and the nearest centre for donation is a 15-mile trip. The blood collection is always on a Sunday, and the buses are very few and far between, requiring long waits and large fares, which some donors simply cannot afford. Petrol, too, is expensive.

At one time we were promised that a special bus pick-up would be arranged. We waited an hour for this in drizzling rain. It did not turn up.

Most of the volunteers are busy, hard-working people. But because the centre covers such a large area, there are often long queues of people waiting to donate. Should they be expected to spend hours of their time waiting around simply because of the poor organisation of the NBA?

Yours sincerely,

Eileen Chandler

Uppingham, Leicestershire

16 January