I had thought the occasion had gone unmarked, but this week an envelope dropped through the letterbox containing a certificate, pin badge, and shiny new gold card, to mark my 50th blood donation. Part of me wonders why it has taken over 30 years to reach my 50th donation, but there have been plenty of gaps where foreign travel, competition, illness, or in one case, a scale and polish, have intervened.
Will I get to 100? Maybe. You can now donate every 12 weeks, and with the Southampton donation centre having relocated to Chandler’s Ford, I don’t even have to wait for a local donation session. (I checked: you can’t donate on Christmas Day, but you can on Boxing Day!) With over twenty years of donation still left in me, that target should be doable.