A CAMPAIGN to recruit 100,000 new blood donors in 100 days has been hailed a great success after the target was smashed two weeks early.
Hundreds of people on the Isle of Wight came forward to support the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) campaign, which was launched following a decline in the number of young donors signing up in 2012.
A total of 322 new donors from the Isle of Wight showed their heart in the run up to Valentine’s Day, joining 119,907 others across England and North Wales. Scotland and South Wales have their own blood service.
Young people, aged 17 to 24, account for around 40 per cent of new donors each year.
Jon Latham, assistant director for marketing at NHSBT, said: "We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported the 100,000 new donors in 100 days campaign.
"We rely on new blood donors to keep coming forward as we need more than 1,000 new registrations every day to replace those donors who can no longer donate."
To sign up to the scheme phone 0300 123 23 23.
Reporter: abbyr@iwcpmail.co.uk