Life-saver's hopes of clinching record

by Anna Lindsay BBC News, Isle of Wight

Mr Runnette's donations may have helped save as many as 400 lives

Alan Runette has helped save the lives of as many as 400 people.

Not content with this extraordinary achievement, the 65-year-old blood donor from the Isle of Wight is aiming for a record.

Having given blood every year since 1958, the prison lecturer clocked up his 137th unit or 'pint' (65 litres) on a visit to the donor clinic in Freshwater on 28 May.

The key to his remarkable story is a bizarre set of circumstances in the 1950s which caused him to give far more blood than most people.

At the time, Mr Runnette lived near London's Edgware Hospital and doctors needed his uncommon B-positive blood to help their revolutionary heart and lung machine.

Did you know? A person has approximately eight pints of blood More than 2.4 million blood donations are collected each year by the NBS About 9,000 pints are needed every day in the UK Only identical twins have exactly the same blood type About 45% of British blood is blood group O (Facts supplied by the National Blood Service)

"The police used to come to my home in Harrow and ask if I could give a pint for an emergency operation.

"As a result, I ended up giving more blood a year than other donors," he said.

Perhaps Mr Runnette's desire to donate is actually in his blood - his grandfather was one of the first donors to reach 50 pints.

This achievement inspired Mr Runnette to do the same, and, having passed that target in the 1970s, he decided to aim for what he hopes will be a record.

"I've never met anyone yet who has reached 150 pints - I'm aiming for that target and I hope I can achieve it," he said.

"Each time they take my blood - with the years adding on - I wonder if I'm going to make it.

"Will the quality of my blood be any good?

"At the moment it's OK and was today - I was told I was alright for another few years."

About 7,000 pints of blood are collected each year from the Isle of Wight's 5,000 registered donors by the National Blood Service (NBS).

About 9,000 pints of blood are needed every day in the UK

Although this may sound a lot, it is below the national figure of 6% of the UK population, and there are fears that the island's high retirement figure - soon to include Mr Runnette - will cause numbers to dwindle.

If donors stop giving, the national supply of blood would run out within a matter of days, the NBS said.

"It really is a pain free process and one which could help save lives," said Jude Pamington, of the service.

"From one pint of blood you could be helping to save the lives of three people."

If Mr Runette reaches his 150-pint target, that means another 39 lives might be saved.

For more information contact the Blood Donor Helpline on 0845 7711 711 or visit BBC2 Ceefax page 465.