A machine which will give Jehovah's Witnesses an alternative to blood transfusions was delivered to a North-East hospital yesterday.

The Cell Saver 5 machine recycles a patient's own blood during surgery - making it an acceptable option for Jehovah's Witnesses, who object to blood transfusions on scriptural grounds.

The equipment, at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, will also be used on non-Jehovah's Witnesses, as it provides a cost-effective alternative to transfusions.

Jehovah's Witnesses from Durham and Teesside raised £11,000 for the machine, plus a further £13,000, which is likely to be spent on blood storage equipment for hospitals in Hartlepool, Stockton and Darlington. Businessman Douglas Urquhart, from Bishop Auckland, chaired the fundraising group.

He said: "For many Witness patients, this represents an acceptable alternative to blood transfusion.

"However, we had in mind the wider benefits to the whole community and are pleased to assist the hospital in recognition of the support and cooperation that doctors and surgeons have provided to us in accommodating our religious beliefs."

The machine reduces the need for blood transfusion - and some of the complications associated with that - as the patient's own blood is stored, cleaned and returned to the body.

Consultant vascular surgeon Chris Wood said: "Having someone else's blood is expensive and there can also be a risk of reaction or complication, such as transfer of infection. With the Cell Saver, you are automatically storing up any of the patient's own blood lost during surgery. The red blood cells are then washed and returned to the patient, so they receive an auto-transfusion."

The machine will be used for major vascular surgery and for emergency operations, such as ruptured aneurysms and cases of vascular injury and trauma.