Platelet donations help save young Dexter’s life

During Blood Cancer Awareness Month, NHS Blood and Transplant is highlighting the importance of donating platelets after they helped save the life of a four-year-old Manchester boy.

Platelets are tiny cells in our blood which help it to clot and prevent bleeding and they are used in treatments for many patients with cancer and blood disorders.

At Dexter Kidd’s fourth birthday party, parents Jonny and Katie Kidd and brother Joey realised that something was not right. Dexter wasn’t himself, he looked pale and didn’t want to open any of his birthday presents.

Dexter holds a painted sign that says, thank you After a visit to the doctors and an overnight stay in Wythenshawe Hospital, Dexter was admitted to Ward 84 at Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Jonny said: “We got taken into a room and Dexter was only four so he didn’t really understand. The doctor said ‘Your son’s got Leukaemia.’ In that one moment in time you find yourself waiting to find out if your child is going to live or die.”

Dexter – now aged eight – from Altrincham in Greater Manchester, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 2015. During three years of treatment, Dexter received three units of platelets, available only due to the generosity of donors.

Jonny said: “When Dexter was diagnosed, I didn’t know what platelets were. I remember the first unit of platelets Dexter received – he began to perk up and had more energy. Platelets were integral to Dexter’s treatment and ultimately have saved his life.”

The Kidd family stand by an end of cancer treatment bell In December 2018, Dexter rang the end of treatment bell. His family organised ‘Dexter’s Ball’, an event that raised vital funds for three charities – Bloodwise, the blood cancer charity; Joshua Tree, a Cheshire based charity supporting families and children with cancer; and Milly’s Smiles, who provide welcome packs to newly diagnosed families admitted onto Ward 84.

Jonny continued: “I think that everyone who donates platelets are wonderful and would like to thank them for their time and effort to donate. We feel very, very lucky to be in this privileged position where Dexter is alive and well.”

Jonny has since donated his own platelets twice after realising how important platelets were in Dexter’s treatment. Jonny said: “Seeing the pain Dexter and other cancer sufferers go through, my two hours giving platelets were nothing in comparison and a great way of giving something back.”

You can donate platelets more often than you can donate blood and one platelet donation can help up to three adults or twelve children.

Platelet donations appointments can take up to two hours at one of our 23 donor centres, which have free WiFi, TV and modern facilities, and are located in town and city centres across the country. Blood types A negative, A positive and AB negative are especially needed for platelet donation.

Not everyone is able to give platelets, so we have to do a quick assessment and we take a blood sample. It’s quick and easy to make an appointment by calling 0300 123 23 23, or going to our website platelets.blood.co.uk.

Watch an interview with Jonny and Katie Kidd

Notes to editors

NHS Blood and Transplant is a joint England and Wales Special Health Authority. We provide the blood donation service for England and the organ donation service for the UK. We also provide donated tissues, stem cells and cord blood. We are an essential part of the NHS, saving and improving lives through public donation.

It is quick and easy to book an appointment to give blood. Call 0300 123 23 23 or visit www.blood.co.uk

NHSBT has 23 permanent donor centres in London (Tooting, Edgware, West End), Manchester (Plymouth Grove and Norfolk House), Cambridge, Luton, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leicester, Bradford, Leeds, Newcastle, Lancaster, Liverpool, Stoke, Birmingham, Bristol, Gloucester, Oxford, Southampton, Poole and Plymouth. Our mobile teams also collect blood at community venues such as church halls around the country.

NHS Blood and Transplant needs to collect 1.4 million units of blood each year to meet the needs of patients across England.

There are four main blood groups – O, A, B and AB. O negative (the universal blood group) and B negative are particularly vulnerable to shortfalls. So, we want people with those blood groups to donate as regularly as they can.

The overall demand for blood is falling by 3-4% per year due to improvements in clinical practice and our work with hospitals to ensure blood is used appropriately for patients.

We need 135,000 new blood donors each year to replace those who stop donating and to ensure we have the right mix of blood groups to match patient needs in the future.

We urgently need more black donors as they are more likely to have the blood type needed to treat the increasing number of patients suffering from sickle cell disease.

There is an urgent need for donors with Ro blood. Only 2% of our donors have Ro type blood. Collecting enough is a constant challenge. Ro is often used to save people with the rare blood disorder, sickle cell disease. Ro blood is ten times more common in black people than in white people.

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Platelet donations help save young Dexter’s life

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