'I'm a VIP!' Rare blood donor glad to be giving back to NHS

WOMAN whose blood is so rare that it can be frozen for up to three decades every time she donates has said she feels "very special and honoured" to be able to help sick patients.

- STORM NEWTON [e-mail]

> Joanne Matthews, left, manager of NHSBT's National Frozen Blood Bank in Liverpool, with Mina Stoddart-Stones, right and also below inset, at the NHS Blood And Transplant in Speke, Liverpool

(Pictures: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Mina Stoddart-Stones has been giving blood for years but only recently realised she is considered a 'VIP' to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).

There are only nine donors in the UK with the same blood as the 26-year old, and donations are used to help prevent fatal reactions during pregnancy and treat people with inherited blood disorders.

It would also be possible for her to donate for herself, with her blood stored in case she ever requires a transfusion.

Miss Stoddart-Stones, who lives in Bridgwater in Somerset and works in education, is on NHSBT's UK rare donor panel, which comprises about 0.01% of 800,000 blood donors, or about 1,200 people.

Her blood is U negative and N negative, which means she is missing the antigens, proteins on the surface of red blood cells that act as markers, found in almost 100% of people in the UK. It is also RO, a rare and vital subtype often found in people with black African or Caribbean descent.

Miss Stoddart-Stones, who was born in the US and was adopted by her parents as a baby, is given priority appointments and in the past has been called up to donate for specific patients.

She said: "It is cool. It's nice to know that it's so rare and that it can help people. It makes me feel very special and honoured, actually, that I could help someone that is really poorly."