When Blood Runs Dry and Why Donating is Never "in Vein" - Kelly Brown, Conor Bryce

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HANNAH LIPPITT: Hello and welcome to the Totally Clinical podcast brought to you by Teckro. Totally Clinical is a deep dive into the freshest trends, big-time challenges and most excellent triumphs of clinical trials. I'm Hannah, your host. Join me as I chat with industry experts, trailblazers, thought leaders and, most importantly, the people benefiting from clinical research. So, tune in, settle back and don't touch that dial. It's time to get Totally Clinical.

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HANNAH LIPPITT: Now,

this week, we've something a bit different for all you listeners out there. First, have a couple of guests on the show – Connor and Kelly from the marketing team – and second, they're talking about a topic that, in my view, doesn't get as much attention as it should: blood donation.

The story behind our discussion today starts with a blog Kelly recently wrote on World Blood Donor Day. Now, in the blog, she detailed how she was inspired to become a regular donor by her father. He had also been inspired by Kelly's maternal grandfather and stepped in to give blood when he no longer could because of a diabetes diagnosis. After reading this blog, Conor offered to donate blood with the goal of following in Kelly, her father and maternal grandfather's footsteps, to become a regular donor. He had his first donation day yesterday and is here with Kelly to tell the tale. Connor, could you start by explaining more about what inspired you about Kelly's story?

CONOR BRYCE: Yeah, so I've been working with Kelly for quite a while now, and she's told us before about herself and members of her family being regular donors, something she's outlined in her blog for World Blood Donor Day. It's something I've always wanted to do, I suppose. But you know, how many times if we told ourselves that good intentions that never actually get followed through, but things kind of lined up? Kelly's blog put the seed of thought back in my head, and it's actually my birthday this week, so I thought, you know, it would be a nice way to mark it by doing something that I've always talked about doing. And I think what inspired me most about the blog – and Kelly, perhaps you can expand on this – was the quote from her dad that he “Gives because he can.”

KELLY BROWN: Probably the best way to summarize my father, actually.

CONOR BRYCE: Yeah and I'm lucky to be fairly healthy, I don't have any underlying issues or conditions that would stop me from doing so. Just like Kelly’s dad said, he gave because he can. I feel like I should give because I can.

KELLY BROWN: My father has O negative, which is... very few people actually have that but the benefit of it is every one of us can receive his blood. And, you know, he just has a perspective that as long as he's healthy and he's able, why shouldn't he? And actually, you know, I kind of have taken that approach in my life as well. If you if you look at parts of the world, steady clean supplies of blood shouldn't be taken or can't be taken for granted, and very few people actually do give. So the fact Conor, it was your birthday, and I had some level of inspiration for you is part of the reason that I actually wanted to tell this story to try to get more people to realize that it's all of our responsibilities to contribute to the greater good of everybody having a, you know, a reasonable supply of blood as and when we need it.

HANNAH LIPPITT: And so,

Conor, you gave blood for the first time yesterday. What was this experience like?

CONOR BRYCE: To be honest Hannah, I was surprised how simple the process was. I guess I shouldn't have been, you know, the people are doing this every day. As a new donor it was so straightforward. Obviously, you know, because I'm new to the process, there was a few more forms for me to fill in and checks to be made, you know, for example, they check my hemoglobin level to ensure that I could donate. The only issue I ran into with one of the checks was they asked if I'd taken care of or handled monkeys in the past year. But the nurses assured me that by my daughter's toy monkey – that she takes everywhere with her, who I have to give a cuddle to before bedtime every night – was fine, so you know, in case you’re worried, toy monkeys are fun.

And apart from that, it was so straightforward and simple. I arrived at the clinic about six, and I guess I was in my seat donating by 6:30. I was taken through the process. The nurse overseeing the donation was super thorough and made sure I felt OK, I had enough water to drink beforehand, had something to eat beforehand, and that I was OK with needles – I am Kelly, I know that you're not.

KELLY BROWN: Still not after all these years.

CONOR BRYCE: Yeah

and that was it. I was hooked up. It took about, I'd say, 10 minutes, and after the donation, I was taken to the recovery area, given a cold drink, and then I was free to go. And it made me, I guess, a little regretful and guilty, I suppose, that I'd never done it before, that I never given before. But better late than never, I guess.

KELLY BROWN: And I think that's...

I think that's probably one of the things that people should realize. So first of all, you are giving up one of your 10 units of blood and there is – rightly so – all the checks that happen to make sure that you're eligible, that it's safe for you, but on the other side, I've, you know, I've had the experience of donating both in the United States and in England, where I live now, and every nurse is just amazing, right, because they were volunteers.

I know there are some people that perhaps in some scenarios do get paid, but you volunteered your time, I volunteer my time. We're giving up, as I said, one of your 10 units of blood for what probably is going to go to a stranger. And so I think the way they set up the collection, the donation, ensuring, of course, patient safety, blood safety as well. I think they just do a really amazing, really amazing job.

CONOR BRYCE: Yeah, definitely. Everybody that was part of the process was so confident, so calm. Everything was so safe. I never felt nervous and I always felt that I'd made the right decision, that I, that I was doing the right thing.

KELLY BROWN: So Conor

and I donated on the same day to have sort of a virtual Teckro blood drive, as it were, being in two different countries. But the nurse I had last night, she really wanted to tell me when she was putting the needle in and I, in my entire life, I always hold my arm out and say, “Just don't tell me when you put it in,” and I look away. And last night she said, “I'll let you know.” I said, “Please don't.” And then I'm looking away and she's, you know, she's cleaning my arm, getting ready. She says, “Are you ready?” I was: “Please just do it. Don't tell me when you're actually doing it.”

HANNAH LIPPITT: So

Kelly, as a third-generation donor, your blog is an incredible story of how good deeds can be passed down through families and friends. Why did you feel it was important to share this story?

KELLY BROWN: Well, so as you know, it was timed with World Blood Donor Day, and you know, I think it's something that I think people take it for granted. You go into the emergency room, into A&E, you're just going to expect to have a reasonable supply of blood if you need it, or if you're out and about in a traffic accident and you need that blood right then and there on the spot. But I think it's one of those things that you take for granted, and it's probably not until you actually need you or someone you know, needs that blood supply that you realize that this is just off the basis of the generosity of people donating blood.

And so, you know, I do... I didn't actually realize until I wrote the blog that I was a third generation. As I said, you know, I grew up, my father's always been giving blood. I didn't know that my grandfather on my mother's side gave blood, and that was actually the reason that my father got involved in giving blood, a. And then in the blog, I also write about, you know, my best friend from university, her father has given his entire life and he not only donates blood, but he also donates platelets. And so, it's these stories of people that I know that got me started and, you know, I'm hopeful that I'll get other people started because I do think that it takes some motivation and inspiration from just hearing from somebody rather than just, you know, going online or going to the blood center and just doing it on your own. I think there is a little bit of sort of mindset or sort of preparation that will help maybe push more people to donate.

HANNAH LIPPITT: You talk

about the importance of giving blood, how to encourage others to do so. How optimistic are you about this and how can we all play our role?

KELLY BROWN: So when I was doing the blog, I actually looked at the percentage of people both in the UK and the United States, and you know, first of all, I do want to be clear that there are loads of reasons why people cannot give blood, so I don't want to misinterpret my intention that I think everybody should give blood. But, you know, coming back to what Conor said about my father, he gives because he can, and I think I have that same attitude: I give because I can. And there might come a point in my life where I won't be able to give blood. But as long as I'm healthy and able, I want to give my, you know, give my part to the world.

So I think, you know, we're less than single digits or in single digits, I should say, of the population that gives blood. You know, I think it's one of those things that even a couple percentage more of people giving blood would probably have a really big impact. And I think right now, with concerns around COVID, with lockdowns, I do think that blood supplies are short. I think that's true in the United States. It's true in the UK. It's probably true in most places in, you know, in the world.

And so I think everybody just having that perspective that, you know, we're all in this together. Right? You have one life, and if you're able to contribute to saving someone's life because that's, you know, that's what giving blood is about. It is about saving somebody's life, whether they're in a trauma or they're going through some sort of treatment like a cancer treatment or something. There's all kinds of reasons that people need blood in all kinds of scenarios, and so, you know, we're all human at the end of the day, and I think supporting each other and in these small ways that for the families that benefit from my blood, it's actually not a small way, but for me to take an hour out of my life every few months is, it's not such a burden on me, and I think it has a huge impact.

HANNAH LIPPITT: Every few months. I didn't realize that you did it every few months.

KELLY BROWN: It's different for men and women because your body obviously has to recover. So because you are giving a pint of blood, it takes a period of time, and I think for women, it's maybe three or four times a year. For men, it's a little bit faster. But yeah, you can only give a few times a year.

HANNAH LIPPITT: And

now Conor has contributed to that.

CONOR BRYCE: Absolutely, absolutely. And just to touch on something that I don't think I mentioned before; everybody at the center was so grateful. That was there, were thanking me so much for doing it. They were really enthusiastic about me donating, it made me feel really good to be doing it. So I'd say if you're lucky enough to be able to donate the only thing stopping you from doing it is filling out a form, taking an hour out of your day to visit the center. You really should.

HANNAH LIPPITT: So

will you be giving blood again?

CONOR BRYCE: Yeah, I mean, obviously I'm going to say yes, even if I wasn't, but I have to say that I honestly will. The process, of course, is going to be different for every person that's doing it. But, you know, like I said before, thankfully, I don't have any underlying health issues that might complicate the process. And at the minute, there's literally nothing stopping me from donating again, so I'd be mad not to.

HANNAH LIPPITT: And

in just one line, a quick one to finish. What advice do you both have for first-time donors? Kelly?

KELLY BROWN: Drink lots of water before you go.

HANNAH LIPPITT: Conor?

CONOR BRYCE: I say if you're in any way, worried once you're in the chair and ready to donate, you really don't need to be. It couldn't be simpler.

HANNAH LIPPITT: Thank

you both Kelly and Connor for joining me on the podcast to talk about the important topic of blood donation. Let's hope the message resonates and that more people discover the importance of donation. And that's your dose of Totally Clinical. For all the listeners out there, you can follow Teckro on Twitter – the handle is @TeckroOfficial – LinkedIn and Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel. And, of course, download the Totally Clinical podcast on Apple, Spotify and Google. See you on your next visit and remember to bring your friends. Thanks for listening! Goodbye!