Skip to content

Star of 1960s blood donor film makes new appeal

ITV Studios Seventeen-year-old Maggie Hackney in the film "The Givers". She sits on a wooden bench outdoors, with a hedge behind. She wears a casual vest top which is white with pale blue edging. Her hair is dark brown and short, in a typical 1960s bouffantITV Studios
Aged 17 Maggie Hackney appeared in a 1960s film to encourage blood donation

A woman whose life was saved as a baby in the 1940s by "revolutionary" blood transfusions has appealed for more blood donors to volunteer ahead of Christmas.

Maggie Hackney, née Brooker, 76, from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, was born in 1948 with Rhesus disease and hospital nurses urgently baptised her because they thought she would not survive.

When Ms Hackney was teenager in the 1960s she appeared in a film to help promote blood donation.

She said: "I will never be able to thank the NHS blood service enough for giving me a chance of survival as a newborn baby."

Maggie Hackney A black and white photo of Maggie Hackney as a young child. She stands outside in front of a wire fence, holding a pair of sandals and a shopping back. She has chin length hair and is smiling widely. She wears a smart duffel coat with a collar and double breasting.Maggie Hackney
Ms Hackney was given a life-saving blood exchange in 1948, the year the NHS was founded

"I was told I was one of the first recipients of an exchange blood transfusion - and that it was revolutionary at the time," Ms Hackney said.

"Even today, you can still see the scars on my wrists and ankles."

Ms Hackney went on to work as a dental surgery assistant and a fitness instructor, and has been a voluntary ambassador for the National Blood Service.

ITV Studios Maggie aged 17 appearing in the film The Givers. She is standing up in an outdoor swimming pool holding a beach ball behind her head, about to throw it. She wears a white vest with blue edging and has dark brown hair in a 1960s bob. She is looking to the right of the shot. In the background also in the pool is a man/boy shading his eyes and wearing no top.ITV Studios
The Givers showed Maggie living a full life after receiving a blood transfusion as a child

When Ms Hackney was 17 she featured in a film called The Givers, which was created to encourage blood donation.

The NHS Blood and Transplant has released a new film showing Ms Hackney watching the footage from the 1960s.

"Watching the film after nearly 60 years was amazing, including seeing my mum," she said.

"I remember the filming as if it were yesterday – it was at the local swimming pool. I was really nervous.

"I went to the cinema on more than one occasion to watch myself!"

She added: "I’d like to give a huge thank you to all the blood donors past and present.

"People take it for granted that there will always be a supply of blood if any of their loved ones might need it. But it’s only there if people choose to give."

NHSBT Maggie Hackney pictured outdoors on a garden seat with a brick wall behind her. She smiles at the camera and wears a beige/grey silk short-sleeved shirt with a v-neck and gold hoop earrings. She has short pixie style grey hair.NHSBT
Maggie Hackney MBE has been an "enthusiastic blood donor for many years"

Dr Lise Estcourt, the NHS Blood and Transplant's medical director for blood transfusion, said the service was on amber alert and there was a significant shortage of blood stocks.

"It was an honour to show Maggie this film again after nearly 60 years.

"While many things have changed, two things haven’t – the generosity of people who donate blood and the fact that it saves lives.

"You could even help someone young grow up to live a full life, just like Maggie," she said.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More on this story