A SCHOOLGIRL who weighed less than a bag of sugar when she was born is featuring in an international campaign urging people to give blood.

Bobbi McBurnie was born 13 weeks premature and needed almost a dozen blood transfusions before she was allowed home.

Her mum, Carol, 39, admitted she was “ignorant” to being a blood donor before her youngest daughter was born.

She said: “You don’t realise how much you need it until it happens to yourself.

“Now, we’ve got most of the family donating blood.”

Carol went for a check-up but things would quickly change, 13 weeks before she was due to give birth.

She said: “My blood pressure was through the roof through pre-eclampsia [a condition in pregnancy characterised by high blood pressure].

“She was born by an emergency caesarean at 27 weeks.

“My appointment was at 2pm and I had her by 4.25pm.

“It was just enough time for her dad, David, to get from his work at Lemac.

“It was quite terrifying.

“It just a bit of a blur to start with and I didn’t get to see her until the next again day.

“She was covered in tubes from her head to her feet, my little 1.5lbs baby.”

Bobbi, now 14, would spend the first three months of her life at Edinburgh Royal Maternity and Simpson Memorial Hospital after being born on November 15, 2001.

Mum-of-three Carol, of Haddington’s Priory Walk, told the Courier: “On the 10th day, the doctor phoned us to go in and said she would not make it through the night.

“She had serious complications and needed 11 blood transfusions in total.

“She gradually picked up, very, very slowly and she just kept taking it day by day, minute by minute at one point.”

The youngster, who is now in S3 at Knox Academy, still goes for six-monthly check-ups but her mum was pleased to say she was doing well.

Now, she is encouraging as many people as possible to come forward and give blood.

Currently, less than four per cent of the eligible population in Scotland are active blood donors.

Similarly, just 38 per cent of people in Scotland claim to know their blood type.

Last Monday, Bobbi and Carol were invited to the Glasgow Blood Donor Centre, on Nelson Mandela Place, and appeared in the Missing Type campaign, which is made up of 23 blood services from around the world, including the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS).

Since Bobbi’s birth, her gran has become a regular volunteer whenever the SNBTS stop off at Haddington’s Corn Exchange.

Carol urged people to do their bit and said: “Don’t hesitate, go along, 10 minutes of your time is all it takes.”

Designed to highlight the importance of the four main blood groups A, B, O and AB, more than 30 companies and organisations across Scotland will be removing As, Bs and Os from their social media posts and signage to highlight their importance.

Dr Moira Carter, associate director of donor services, SNBTS, said: “Missing Type is a global campaign designed to highlight the need for new blood donors and promote awareness of your blood group. We are asking the people of Scotland to register as blood donors, donate and support us by being blood group aware.”

To view the campaign, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufLwOS-MsOc or www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNvfs9yXQpc to see an interview with Bobbi and Carol.

SNBTS will be in Ross High School, in Tranent, on September 18 and at Haddington’s Corn Exchange on September 21.