'Superhero' from Stoke-on-Trent donates blood more than 300 times

A man who has donated blood more than 300 times over the last three decades has urged other people to follow his example.

David Machin, 69, from Burslem, said he did it as a way of saying "thank you" to the anonymous blood donor who saved his wife's life.

Without a blood transfusion Kim Machin would have died while giving birth to his daughter.

Mr Machin said he especially wanted to recruit younger donors.

"When I go down to the donation centre in Etruria, what I'm seeing is people over 45, you never see any youngsters," he said.

"When I've stopped giving it, who's going to take my place?"

Mrs Machin said she was "very proud" of her husband and described him as "a bit of a superhero, but without a cape".

Mr Machin said the 68 minutes it takes, on average, to give blood is not a huge commitment and added: "If you can save so many lives in one hour, how fantastic is that?"

NHS Blood and Transplant said each blood donation can save up to three lives, so Mr Machin will likely have helped hundreds of people across the country.

It said he has also donated plasma and platelets.

"We always need new donors to replace those people who can no longer donate for reasons such as age, ill health and pregnancy," a spokesperson said.

"We especially need younger donors, male donors, and donors who are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities."

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