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Highland delivery driver helps hundreds of babies





Floyd Lloyd has given his 100th blood donation with no intention of stopping yet.
Floyd Lloyd has given his 100th blood donation with no intention of stopping yet.

A donor who has given blood a total of 100 times says it gives him a special feeling to know how many babies he has helped through the years.

Delivery driver Floyd Lloyd (52), from Smithton in Inverness, gave his 100th donation of blood at the Inverness Donor Centre last week - just over 30 years since being persuaded to donate for the first time by a work colleague.

And while most donors have no idea how their blood is used, Mr Lloyd’s lack of exposure to a mild virus means he can be confident his blood is going to help the very youngest.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a mild and very common virus, similar to the virus that causes cold sores or chickenpox.

It can cause mild illness with symptoms similar to the flu, but may also pass through people completely unnoticed.

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People are often infected in childhood but those in good health produce antibodies against it and make a full recovery.

Once a person has the virus, however, it stays in the body for life.

Because of their weaker immune systems newborn babies can only be transfused with blood that lacks the virus, making Floyd and others like him, as CMV-negative donors, particularly prized as donors.

“I only found out when I was living in England for a time and was taking part in a test to see if donors could give more than the once every 12 weeks donations are currently allowed that I was CMV-negative,” he said.

“I call it having baby blood and it is a very special feeling to know that every donation I make - which is just under a pint at a time - can help three or four babies.

“I don’t have kids myself but it’s nice to know that my donations help the very youngest. It’s really lovely.”

Always keen to persuade other people to donate blood if they can he said: “I have when I was around 18 for the first time, so 34 years ago more or less.

“I was working in Wimpy at the time and it was a colleague there who was going along one day to donate blood and said I should come along with him.

“I just thought, why not, went along and found it so easy.

“I’ve been giving regularly ever since except for a few years when I was working on the west coast of Scotland and it was difficult to get to sessions. Basically whenever I can give I give.”

On reaching 100 donations - he had a special T-shirt made for the occasion - he said: “It is a nice feeling, all the nurses made me feel special, and now on it’s on to 200!

“To anyone who is thinking about giving blood but hasn’t done it yet I would say just do it. It’s easy, no hassle, it’s just an hour out of our life and think about the difference you’ll be making.”

Highland News and Media wants to bring 5000 Highlanders in to give blood between now and Easter. Join our campaign to give blood and save lives. Book an appointment to give blood at www.scotblood.co.uk, or call 0345 90 90 999 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm).


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