Profile

While my working day is spent as a Biomedical Scientist my spare time can get very hectic. My children do lots of hobbies and I join in with them while at rugby helping to coach the younger age groups.

I love getting out and about either walking or on my bike. My favourite places to cycle to are the Falkirk Wheel and the Helix and Kelpies in Falkirk.

I have a big passion for music of all kinds and I have played various musical instruments including the trumpet, clarinet and the bagpipes. I even used to play in a pipe band!

I like spending any spare time I have making things by knitting and sewing. I also like mending and fixing things which comes in handing when my children frequently present me with broken toys including remote control cars and gaming controllers. I love seeing their faces light up when I get their favourite toys working again!

I work in the Processing Department of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service. We receive all the blood that is donated by members of the public and manufacture this into different blood products. This can include red blood cells, plasma and platelets. Here is a video of my workplace:

These blood products may be required by patients in hospital who have had operations, accidents or just given birth. We ensure that the blood is handled with care and is safe to be used by patients. After being processed the blood products are stored in huge walk in coldrooms and freezers.

We supply the blood products to every hospital in Scotland. A hospital will place an order for what it needs then I will pick out what is required, package it up and then our drivers deliver it to the hospital.

My department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure we are always able to provide this essential service. This involves working a shift pattern made up of early shifts, back shifts and night shifts. It can be very tiring working a week of nightshifts but we always think about the patients we are helping with our important work.

Early shifts are very busy shifts. I oversee a large team of Biomedical Support Workers who process the blood donations by spinning them in giant centrifuges to separate the red blood cells from the plasma. The centrifuged blood is then put onto a machine that separates the red cells and plasma into different bags. This is all a time critical process as I must ensure the end products are put into the giant fridges within 24 hours from being donated. This is to ensure a safe and usable product is made.

There is various different shift tasks that I am required to carry out and most are quality checks to ensure that all processes are documented and all quality control and checks have been carried out. I run reports to identify the time blood was donated and ensure that it has been made into the correct product. I make sure all the blood products are weighed and labelled. This ensures that patients are given the correct product.

I may also spend some time in our dispatch department. This is where hospitals send in blood orders and I will ensure they are dealt with. Sometimes we do not have the products they require so I will suggest alteratives or keep the order aside to be fulfilled later in the day when more blood will become available. It is a very busy department with the phone going most of the day. I will also deal with urgent and emergency orders. This may involve blood being sent to a hospital with one of our blue light drivers as a patient requires the blood component immediately. It can be quite stressful dealing with these situations but everyone is fully trained and we all work together as a team to get the job done.

It is very rewarding when you know you have worked hard and made a difference to someones life.