The Mobile Blood Donation Unit yesterday marked its 10,000th blood donation since February 2009, when the unit was overhauled and put back into service. It has been used 684 times since then, about three or four times a week.

The 10,000th donor was 40-year-old Aldo Busuttil from Zurrieq – who also marked his own 26th donation since 1998.

Health Minister Joe Cassar earlier this week described donors as “heroes”, commenting: “It is thanks to these donors that we can continue to perform an ever-increasing list and number of operations.”

He said that little do we think about the blood donor prior to an operation, while in reality that operation wouldn’t have been possible unless the surgeon is comfortable with the availability of matching blood before the actual start of the procedure.

Dr Cassar thanked the staff at the National Blood Transfusion Service who do their utmost to enrol people, and who plan major events to include the presence of the Mobile Unit.