A BLOOD donor from Tidworth was rewarded for his blood donation efforts at a recent awards ceremony.

Gerald Fisher was one of 46 blood donors who were presented with special gifts at the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) awards ceremony that was held at The Hub Theatre in Southampton.

Gerald had been recognised for donating blood 75 times and with each donation potentially saving three lives, Gerald has given enough blood to save 200 people.

Gerald said: “Initially, I loved having the time off work and free tea and biscuits.

“However it wasn’t long before I soon realised that donating blood is vital for the survival of many people.

You never know if one day you may need it yourself.”

The ceremony celebrates those donors that have reached the milestones of either 75 or 100 donations, or 500 donations if they donate platelets.

Also at the event in The Hub Theatre, Chapel Road was Steph Robinson, a student studying at Southampton University.

Steph has Inflammatory Bowel Disease and has been an inpatient at Southampton General Hospital for the past four years.

Blood donors rarely get the chance to find out how one hour of their time, can save a life but Steph gave them this opportunity.