Today my employer organised a ‘health fair’ at the 5-star Four Seasons hotel. There were stands all around the large room, each dealing with a different aspect of personal health.

One of the stands was for blood donors. The last time I donated blood was around 1973 I recall not liking the bit right at the beginning where they prick your finger to test a small blood sample… so I didn’t go again.

Knowing that medical science had moved on since then I sat down to talk to the guy manning the stand as I thought that maybe it was time to give again.

There was some degree of altruism in giving blood as I want to put something back into the country that is providing me with a good lifestyle, but truthfully I only thought I was signing up to be a donor in the future.

However within a few minutes I had completed the paperwork and two minutes later I was in the mobile blood centre being checked for suitability and blood pressure.

With all the checks being completed and everything OK, I moved onto the couch and less that ten minutes later they had relieved my of 460 ml of vintage B+ into a small plastic bag.