A MUM whose little boy's life was saved by blood transfusions is supporting a vital campaign to attract more donors.

Noah McIntosh, two, from Blandford, suffered a cardiac arrest from a rare strain of Ecoli and needed six blood transfusions to save his life.

Mum Alice Jeans was inspired to donate blood for the first time after watching her son suffering multiple complications in hospital including kidney and heart failure in 2014.

She said: “Without people donating blood Noah wouldn’t be here today. I am eternally grateful.

“There was no question about me giving blood. I thought if those other people hadn’t given blood, it wouldn’t have been there for Noah.

“If I can help somebody who is in the same position, that would be special.”

NHS Blood and Transplant has launched its Missing Type campaign to urge people in the county to register to donate As, Bs and O types of blood to help keep stock levels up.

Last year, 16,549 people in Dorset gave blood at least once, including 6,394 people in Bournemouth and Poole. New blood donors are crucial for ensuring hospitals have the right mix of blood groups to meet patient need in the years to come. There is a particular need for more young blood donors and more black and Asian donors.

Mike Stredder, director of Blood Donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Thanks to the generosity of our current donors, hospitals have the blood needed to treat patients and there is not a crisis in blood stocks. Despite overall blood use in hospitals declining, we need more young donors to safeguard blood donation for future generations. And it’s vital the blood donor community reflects the diversity of the population because blood types vary across communities and patients need well-matched blood.

“We need people from Dorset to register today. We particularly need people with blood groups O negative, and A negative to come forward and people from black and South Asian communities.

"There is also a need for people to become dedicated platelet donors. We have a dedicated blood donor centre in the Boots store at the Dolphin Shopping Centre in Poole, which is the perfect place to donate blood for the first time."

For more information or to register as a new blood donor visit www.blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.