YOUNG Jude Allen was given a chance at life thanks to the help of blood donors.
Now today you can help others like him by becoming a donor as part of The News Give Blood this Christmas campaign.
We want to get 200 new people to register with the blood donor list before Christmas Eve to ensure stocks are full in the future.
Mum Kellie Allen, 34, of, Purbrook, is urging new donors to come forward.
The private neo-natal nurse said: ‘Jude was born at 28 weeks.
‘He was really very poorly and in the first 10 weeks had many blood and platelet transfusions.
‘He had a complication when he was born and his bone marrow wasn’t mature enough to make red blood cells.’
Kellie and her husband Darby, 50, are parents to five children.
‘I did lose one of my boys – Leo who would now be six – due to a birth injury,’ added Kellie.
‘My son Oscar, who’s five, was born at 29 weeks, but he didn’t have any problems and he was well.
‘But Jude was a completely different situation.’
Jude contracted group B streptococcus during birth, and then suffered with lung problems.
He stayed in the neo-natal intensive care unit, at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, for 10 weeks.
Kellie said: ‘The blood donations saved his life. When babies are that tiny, they are so dependent on donors.’
Jude is currently being treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London, for a rare intestine disorder, which means he needs to be fed through a tube.
‘There will always be premature babies, who may need blood like Jude did,’ added Kellie.
‘And it’s not just premature babies.
‘Blood is needed for so many different reasons, and that’s why it’s important to keep the levels up.’
Jude is pictured above with long-term donors Ian, 64, and Christine Drummond, 62, of Crescent Road, Alverstoke.
Mrs Drummond said: ‘We’ve been donating for about 15 years and thought it goes for people in accidents and hospitals. But I had no idea it helped little ones as well. Jude is such a star.
‘I want people to sign up to become blood donors.’
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