A WELL-KNOWN Tranent postman has donated more than 12 gallons of blood over the course of more than 40 years.

Alistair Cymber, 61, has been giving blood since 1978, when he was just 19.

He donated his 100th pint of blood on Sunday when the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) was at Ross High School, his former school.

As well as having the rare blood type A negative, which only six per cent of people in Scotland have, it is helping others most in need that spurs Alistair to keep going.

The Kennedy Crescent resident (pictured right) said: “It is all about helping someone less fortunate.

“When I first started, I was donating twice a year and then three times a year. I’ve then given every year since but I have missed two or three due to holidays.

“I have received messages from people who have had blood transfusions before and are really grateful for them, so that spurs me to keep going. I’ve had a good reaction from people and on social media, lots have said ‘well done’ which is really nice.”

He added that there was no better way to celebrate his achievement than with a cup of tea and a biscuit afterwards, a popular feature when donating blood.

The news of his 100th donation was shared by friend Raymond Strang on social media, with one well-wisher saying: “Well done and a thank you from my family, who rely on people like you to produce the treatment we need [for] their blood clots when they fall or cut themselves.”

Alistair is now waiting to be sent his gold badge to commemorate his 100th pint of blood.

Alistair, who previously lived in Ormiston, has worked as a postman for 34 years. He is now mostly office based but previously covered rural locations in and around Pencaitland.
He said the way the blood transfusion service was now run was better than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said: “If you make a booking, there is a certain number of people that will turn up rather than 20 or 30 people at once. You didn’t need to make an appointment before.

“When I went for my appointment there were about 10 people there.

“There has been a big surge in younger people donating blood, which is good and keeps it going.”

Alistair has vowed he will keep donating blood for as long as he can and encouraged others to do the same. He said: “I always recommend to people that they donate blood. It is 45 minutes of your time and is not painful.”

People are able to give blood up to four times a year, with a recommended three-month-long gap between donations.

Jennifer Wilson, head of donor marketing and engagement at SNBTS, said: “Everyone at the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service would like to extend our huge thanks and congratulations to Alistair.

“Giving 100 donations is a significant achievement. As each donation can be split into three separate parts – red cells, platelets and plasma – this means Alistair may have saved or improved the lives of up to 300 different patients in Scotland. 

“These people may have needed blood for child birth, surgery, cancer treatment or in an emergency situation. This means Alistair has made a significant contribution to NHS Scotland and we once again extend our huge thanks for this.

“Across Scotland, each year, this is a milestone reached by only a few dozen blood donors.

“SNBTS need more blood donors for the Tranent session, and are asking as many people as possible to register via scotblood.co.uk