"Anyone between 17 and 60 can give blood - and, if you've been registered with us for a while, you can still give blood up to the age of 70.

We hold blood-donor sessions at least two or three times a year in small towns, and more often in larger towns and a city like Bangor. It will only take you about 45 minutes and it will really, really make a difference.

About 10,000 units of blood are needed every single day in the UK and blood is needed in 750,000 operations a year. All of the blood can be used; the red blood cells for accident victims and in operations, white cells when people's resistance to disease is low, platelets to help patients after anti-cancer treatments and plasma to help burns victims and expectant mothers.

There are four main blood groups; A, B, O and AB, either positive or negative. The most common is O positive and the least is AB negative, but just because one is more common than another does not mean we need less of that group, in fact every donation we take is equally important in saving lives.

Only six per cent of the population who can give blood do, so they are really important people - and we need more like them. When there's a session in your town, just come along and chat to a nurse to see if you are eligible to give blood. Then we take a pin-prick of blood to check your type and if your anaemic. If everything's OK, it just takes about 10-15 minutes for us to take 470 mls, less than a pint of blood from your arm - and then you get to sit down with a cup of tea and a biscuit!

About two weeks after your first donation you will receive a little red card in the post, it looks like a switch card, this will have your donor number and also your blood group on it.

You cannot give blood if you've suffered from certain diseases, if you've recently had a cold or been on antibiotics or if you have had a tattoo or a piercing in the last 12 months.

So, to find out if you can donate blood and when we're next visiting your area, visit our website (see right)."