MY mother always told me I was special, not least because of my rarefied blood.

The “0 Negative” body fluid can, unlike most people’s, be transfused into any patient in need.

The NHS needs more than 5,000 donations from people each day and supplies are often running “critically low”. Blood can often only have a shelf life of 35 days and so I often get phone calls, emails, and text messages asking if I will come down for a quick drain.

Down at the West End donor centre in Margaret Street, Oxford Circus, experts will check whether your haemoglobin is high enough before you can donate.

Flattery always helps. There is a sign on the wall saying “you are doing something amazing”.

The whole thing takes little over five minutes and you get Club biscuits and a cup of lemon squash at the end.

To register and book an appointment to donate visit www.blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23 to find your nearest session