READERS have responded well to The Northern Echo Lifeblood campaign and donated blood, according to figures.

Within days of the launch of the paper's blood donor appeal on March 22, National Blood Service (NBS) officials in the region noticed an increase in donors.

The trend was confirmed by Richard Charrington, national collection plans manager for the service, during a visit to a donor session in St Cuthbert's Church Hall, Darlington, last week.

At that session, in which 162 people gave blood in five hours, Mr Charrington said the increase was "a lot to do with the campaign, because we have had a lot of new donors".

Now the NBS, which needs to replace 5,000 donors in the North-East because of new restrictions on people who have had blood transfusions, has published figures that confirm the trend.

Laura Summers, a spokeswoman for the NBS in the North-East and North Yorkshire, said: "During the week beginning March 22, sessions in your area collected an average of 109 per cent of their target. In the previous week, the collection averaged 105 per cent of their target."

She said blood stocks in the region were looking healthy.

From Monday, three per cent of donors -everyone who has had a transfusion since 1980 -will be unable to give blood because of a potential link to variant CJD.

Nationally it has been calculated that 52,000 regular donors will be barred, including about 5,000 in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

Hospitals in the region need at least 400 units of blood each day.

NBS spokeswoman Penny Richardson said: "From the figures we have seen, your campaign has definitely made a difference, but we need to see those extra donors coming day in, day out."

For more information on giving blood, call (0845) 7711711, or go to www.blood.co.uk

Donor sessions are held in the region each day.