Blood donation
The service depends entirely on voluntary donations from the public. Originally, Blood was collected from various donor clinics located over the country. In 1994, the first mobile session was held in Elstree, hosted by the Joely Bear Appeal. Currently, Blood donation sessions are set up throughout the country and take place in many diverse venues. From village halls, to mobile collection units (known as Bloodmobiles), and sessions set up companies and organisations so people can donate at work. New donors are generally required to be fit and healthy, weigh between and and be aged between 17 and 66. However, regular donors are permitted to donate past the age of 70 as long as they remain healthy. Female donors may give blood up to three times a year (once every 16 weeks) and male donors may give blood four times a year (every 12 weeks).