Certificate of Blood donations, England, 1933-1936

Complete record of donations from British Red Cross Society. Awarded to R S Martin for 10 donations, from 1933-1936.

Ten blood donations were recorded and rewarded by this certificate. It was given to a Mr R. S. Martin. Each donation session is marked on the card with an attendance sticker, which is signed and dated. His first donation occurred just over a decade after the Red Cross organised the first voluntary blood donations. Vast civilian and military casualties during the Second World War a few years later saw high demand for blood supplies. 900 centres were set up for blood donors by 1944.

The first British blood bank was set up in Ipswich, England, in 1937. However, the National Blood Service was not established until 1946.