THE Probus Club of Andover held their monthly lunch at the Masonic Hall, East Street Andover recently.

Forty members attended and after the usual stimulating social intercourse and a hearty meal, were treated to a fascinating talk by Duncan Brown on ‘A History of Blood Donating’. Duncan, once elected as the youngest ever Mayor of Abington, now advertises himself (justifiably as members will testify) as ‘The Speech Artist’ (www.speechartist.com). A less experienced talker might have found the task of delivering such a subject to 40 septuagenarians after a substantial lunch to be an uphill battle. However his humorous and friendly style kept even the most dedicated somnambulist awake.

He traced the history of blood donating from the days of leeches and bloodletting to the present day’s sophisticated organisation, unveiling some fascinating developments along the way. For example, the fact that the first donor was Lucky, a small dog whose blood was successfully transferred to a large dog.

Later experiments were carried out using sheep and in 1818 James Blundell carried out experiments aimed at developing anti-coagulants and successfully carried out a transfusion on a vicar; the vicar survived. Duncan even managed to bring Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ into his presentation.

Later developments, including the introduction of blood typing and sophisticated storage and transportation procedures, saved thousands of lives during the two world wars. He postulated that the future would lie in the realms of stem cell science. In the meantime there remains an urgent need for donors to donate blood to meet the country’s increasing demands.

The club normally meets for lunch on the last Monday of each month. Membership is open to retired or semi-retired professional and business men of age 60 or over living in the Andover area. Its aim is to ‘promote good fellowship without political or sectarian association’. The club offers social functions including ladies’ lunches, talks and outings. And whilst on the subject of blood, the club needs new blood so if you are interested in giving them a try please ring Barrie Johnson, committee member, on 01264 337479.

The club’s next meeting is on 30 January.