'My special blood helps critically ill babies'

Nigel Vaughan was told he had "special blood" when he was 16 years old in not so happy circumstances.

Following a murder where he lived near Blackpool in 1970, every man in a certain age range had to provide a saliva and blood sample.

He was told his B negative blood-type or NEO blood - was rare and he could help babies in neonatal intensive care.

Now 70, Nigel from Ockbrook, near Derby, is about to give blood for the 250th time. Speaking to the BBC, he said: "I'm going to keep doing it until they tell me to stop."

According to the NHS, newborns can only receive blood that is lacking the cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common and usually harmless virus that most adults are exposed to during their lives and stays in the body.

It can however be fatal to infants with underdeveloped immune systems.

Nigel's B negative blood type is one of the rarest in the world - just 2% of blood donors have it.

In comparison, 36% of donors have O positive blood which is the most common type.

Nigel said he was inspired to start giving blood by his mother, who was a blood donor.

She started donating after Nigel underwent life saving surgery as a baby to treat pyloric stenosis, a serious condition affecting newborns where the passage between the stomach and the small bowel becomes narrower.

He said he did not have a definitive figure of the number of people he had helped but thinks it could be up to 500 people.

Nigel, an emergency responder for St John Ambulance, first gave blood when he turned 18.

"My earliest memories are of accompanying my mum to give blood. As soon as I was old enough I started donating myself.

"Knowing my blood can go to babies is quite special. My daughter and my daughter-in-law now give blood and it's great to know I'm passing on the blood donation baton, just like my mum before me.

"If there's no reason why you shouldn't give blood, please do give blood.

"You save at least one person's life if not three... so help everybody you can.

"In particular, the country is diverse so it's really important people from all backgrounds donate because blood-types from different parts of the world are slightly different."

Asked about his impact helping so many children, Nigel said: "To be honest, I just turn up and hope it does good.

"I've done it for so many years, it's half an hour of my time and I give it happily to help others."

A spokesperson for NHS Blood and Transplant said one donation can help up to six babies or three adults.

They added stocks of most blood types were good but there is a particular need for more B negative, O negative, Ro and Black heritage donors in the lead up to Easter and the May bank holiday period.

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