Blood donation
Giving blood saves lives: it’s that simple. If you are considered healthy, weigh between 50kg and 160kg (110lb and 350lb), and are aged between 17 and 66 (70 if you have given in the last two years), then you can sign up. Do check, though, if you have been out of the country recently or have any health concerns. You can register at my.blood.co.uk in England, welsh-blood.org.uk in Wales and scotblood.co.uk in Scotland. Donors in England even get a text message when their blood goes to a hospital to be used. Existing blood donors can also join the bone marrow (stem cell) donor list, or you can contact the Anthony Nolan blood cancer charity for a swab kit in the post.
Be a living donor
Signing up to the organ donation scheme takes two minutes. But you can also act now: donating a kidney can be direct to someone you know, you can be a “non-directed altruistic donor” or, if you are not a match, you can even pair/pool your donation: you give to someone else, another person donates to your friend/loved one.
Other donations
Living donations can also include part of your liver, discarded bone from a hip or knee replacement (to be used in bone grafts) or the amniotic membrane (placenta) after an elective caesarean section (used as a graft or dressing in reconstructive surgery) at a participating hospital. Neither of the latter two donations will affect your surgery or birth – you’ll just be asked some medical questions and have blood samples taken beforehand.
Speak up
Synthetic voices for people who have lost the ability to speak often sound, well, synthetic. Various projects are aiming to build a more authentic, personal voice for the voiceless, either by banking their own speech, or relying on “donations” from those with similar accents or timbre. The US-based VocalID is building a “Human Voicebank”, and more than 14,000 people from 110 countries have contributed. You just record and send. There are also regional variations – for instance, SpeakUnique is currently collecting Scottish accent groups.
Hair
The Little Princess Trust makes real-hair wigs for children who have lost their hair through cancer treatment or other illnesses. For donations, the longer the better – preferably 25cm (10in) or more. Dyed is fine, as long as it is in a natural colour. Do tell your hairdresser before you start, though, as there are guidelines to adhere to. In the US, Pink Heart Funds accepts donations too.
Donate food
The Trussell Trust runs more than 400 foodbanks, supplying emergency food to people in crisis in the UK. It accepts food, of course, but also good-quality clothes, toys, electrical goods and furniture. You can donate at your local foodbank, at supermarket collection points or by hosting your own collection.
Time
Donating your time is an invaluable gift to a charity or organisation, but can also be a lot of fun – and good for you, too. Do-it.org is a database of UK volunteering opportunities, from reading to kids to helping an older person with their garden. You can also search for ways you can help from your own home.
