Sir,-I am 29 years old and six months ago I was diagnosed with a rare and potentially fatal blood disorder called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura for which I am being treated (in the most caring and professional way) at the Haematology Day Unit of West Middlesex Hospital.

The treatment consists of monthly infusions of immunoglobulin, a human blood product which is expensive and, in some hospitals, often unavailable. However, I am not really writing this letter about me.

This is about all the people I have met (and the ones I never will) who need blood to survive. It is also about my best friend who died 10 years ago waiting for a suitable bone marrow donor at the age of 19.

Please, please, give blood and register to become a bone marrow donor. Giving blood might be uncomfortable but just think of all the people like me, whose life could not be sustained without the generosity of the thousands who decide to donate a small part of them for the good of others.

It is vital not to ignore the need for blood we are experiencing in the UK! Personally, I am grateful to the anonymous people who give me a new lease of life every month. Part of them is inside me and I can't thank them enough for it.

Is a tiny scratch on the skin so scary that it stops you from giving life to someone else? Don't let it!

Next time you kiss somebody you love just think that someone loves me just as much as that, and that I can only be around for them thanks to blood donations.-Antonella Collaro, Lower Mortlake Road, Richmond.

April 30, 2003 15:00