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| Soldier issues 'give blood' plea | Soldier issues 'give blood' plea |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A soldier who has served in Afghanistan has urged people to give blood after suffering a serious road accident. | A soldier who has served in Afghanistan has urged people to give blood after suffering a serious road accident. |
| Staff Sgt Paul Farrington almost died in a motorbike crash near his headquarters in Arbroath last June. | |
| He was unconscious and was given three units of blood at the roadside by a trauma team from Ninewells Hospital. | He was unconscious and was given three units of blood at the roadside by a trauma team from Ninewells Hospital. |
| Once in hospital, Sgt Farrington then received 19 more transfusions and, in total, 46 donors helped to save his life. | Once in hospital, Sgt Farrington then received 19 more transfusions and, in total, 46 donors helped to save his life. |
| Sgt Farrington said: "Without the blood at the roadside and in the operating theatre I could easily have been another fatal statistic. | Sgt Farrington said: "Without the blood at the roadside and in the operating theatre I could easily have been another fatal statistic. |
| "I and my family will always be grateful to the donors who saved me." | "I and my family will always be grateful to the donors who saved me." |
| Jacqueline Millar, local donor services manager, added: "We need everyone in Scotland who is over the age of 17 to make the commitment to come forward and give blood at least once in 2009. | Jacqueline Millar, local donor services manager, added: "We need everyone in Scotland who is over the age of 17 to make the commitment to come forward and give blood at least once in 2009. |
| "This will help reverse the donor base decline we are now witnessing. The decline in donor numbers is very worrying. | "This will help reverse the donor base decline we are now witnessing. The decline in donor numbers is very worrying. |
| "We need more donors to come forward to make this commitment to make sure that we can continue to support Scottish healthcare." | "We need more donors to come forward to make this commitment to make sure that we can continue to support Scottish healthcare." |