Christmas blood donation 'brought son back to life'

A BRIDGEND father has spoken about seeing his baby son in need of life-saving blood donations - and now, 25 years later, the pair are urging others to donate.

- IAN LEWIS

“It was watching the sheer amount of blood and platelets my son Tom received during his cancer treatment that made me realise I needed to give something back,” recalls Simon Pugh, who is campaigning with his son to encourage more people to donate blood, platelets or stem cells.

At just four months old, on Christmas Eve, 2000, Tom Pugh, from Bridgend, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer.

Due to fears his condition would worsen, the doctors took urgent action and started an aggressive course of chemotherapy on Christmas Day at Llandough Hospital in Penarth.

Reflecting on his son’s experience, Tom said: “For such a small person, we couldn’t believe just how many blood products he needed.

“The difference it made was amazing - each donation he received literally brought him back to life.

“This is what made me realise I wanted to give back, to help children like my son.”