This film is one of many made by the Cine Section of Hebden Bridge Literary and Scientific Society. How many they made is difficult to say, although a trawl through their archives may give some idea. It isn’t known either how many have survived, the YFA has a few. Among those mentioned on the online Archive list of the Societies’ minutes and other materials are films of “Wings for Victory Week”, made by the then Secretary Kenneth Crabtree, and “Salute the Soldier Week”; both made during the...

This film is one of many made by the Cine Section of Hebden Bridge Literary and Scientific Society. How many they made is difficult to say, although a trawl through their archives may give some idea. It isn’t known either how many have survived, the YFA has a few. Among those mentioned on the online Archive list of the Societies’ minutes and other materials are films of “Wings for Victory Week”, made by the then Secretary Kenneth Crabtree, and “Salute the Soldier Week”; both made during the war. Kenneth Crabtree, who was Secretary for 21 years, made a number of films, including one on snow scenes as part of a library of local interest films. Other individual members also made films of their own, as with Frank Redman’s A Chess Affair, made in 1956. The films were passed on to Halifax Cine Society. The YFA has a list of some of these films – see also the Context for The Pace Egg (1960-61). For more on the background to the Society and its Cine group see the Context for Behind the Scenes (1954).

 

Although the first published successful blood transfusion was performed by British obstetrician James Blundell as long ago as 1818, the National Blood Transfusion Service wasn’t formed until 1946 – two years before the NHS was established. Blundell in fact performed 10 more transfusions between 1825 and 1830, five of which were successful. In 1901 English surgeon Joseph Lister discovered the three main blood types: A, B and O. The first recorded voluntary blood donation was in 1921 to the British Red Cross, who then went on to set up the first human blood transfusion service in the world in 1926, followed by the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in 1930 (which also had the first plasma processing centre in 1943). However, the first blood bank was established at the Leningrad Hospital in the USSR in 1932.  It wasn’t until 1937 that both the US and Britain set up their first blood banks. Needless the say, the Second World War led to an enormous need for transfusions and so blood donation centres were set up across Britain.  

 

There is some confusion from different sources on the internet about the changes to the name of the Blood Transfusion Service, with one source claiming that it didn’t have the ‘National’ part until 1991. However, this film is evidence to the contrary. For anyone who has donated blood, what might appear to be so remarkable about the film is just how little has changed in the subsequent 60 years of blood donation. Today the Blood Transfusion Service doesn’t usually cover volunteers with a blanket, but the absence of biscuits with the tea might need some explanation – although there was still rationing! There have of course been major technological developments, such as an automated process of taking blood which cuts off once the 470 mls has been bagged – as Tony Hancock once famously said, “very nearly an armful”.  Medical professions may know why it is that the blood being collected in the film is regularly shaken.  

 

There have been many other small changes gradually coming in over the years to ensure that the blood is of sufficient quality – the iron levels required are now higher – and that the volunteer doesn’t do anything too demanding until they have had time to recover. But these are all minor changes. Perhaps the biggest change has come with the screening of those who can donate: either because giving blood could potentially harm the donor, or because the blood could potentially harm the receiver. As far as the latter goes, some of the policy has come under criticism for its blanket lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood. This is because this group, together with prostitutes and drug users, are perceived as high risk carriers of HIV (the virus that leads to AIDS). One anomaly here that has been pointed out is that all blood donations are tested for this anyway, as well as for hepatitis B and C, and reliance on the forms donors fill in is clearly not safe. The prohibition was introduced in the early 1980s in response to the HIV pandemic.  The evidence today is that the incidence of HIV among this group has greatly declined, and that in any case it also disqualifies men who not have had any gay sex since well before the outbreak of HIV.

 

The campaign to reverse this policy is aided by the fact that there is at present a shortfall of blood donations of around 400,000 units of blood each year.  At present only 4% of the population regularly gives blood, but some research suggests that a much higher proportion of gay men would be prepared to, enough to make up the shortfall (References). There is also a current debate as to whether organ donations should be made compulsory.  Whatever the rights and wrongs of these debates are, to those who do donate, either their blood or their organs, there are very many people who have reason to be thankful.

 

References

 

The History Of Blood Transfusion Medicine

A brief history of blood transfusion

Give Blood

NHS lifetime ban on 'high-risk' gay men donating blood to be reviewed