A WOMAN who is petrified of needles has helped her colleagues win a loyalty award for services to the blood donor service.

Denise Corrigan, a corporate procurement officer for Durham County Council, has always had a fear of needles - but that has not stopped her giving blood repeatedly.

Her example has been praised by the National Blood Service (NBS), which is backing The Northern Echo's Lifeblood Appeal.

The appeal, which was launched two months ago, urges new and lapsed blood donors to come forward to help make up for the estimated 5,000 regular donors who are now excluded from donation.

The exclusions happened because of fears that people who have had blood transfusions since 1980 could be at risk of the human version of mad cow disease.

Blood supplies in the region are holding up to demand with the number of donations slightly above target, but the NBS stressed that there was no room for complacency, with hospitals in the region needing at least 400 units of blood every day.

Mrs Corrigan is only one of a small army of regular donors from Durham County Council who give blood whenever the NBS sets up stall.

"I've worked at County Hall for 20 years and I've been giving blood as often as the team has been here - even though I don't like needles," she said.

At the most recent session - where Mrs Corrigan gave her 29th unit of blood - about 150 other donors did their bit for the region's blood stocks.

To recognise their efforts, a Supporter Loyalty Award was presented to the County Hall manager David Dixon, by Aimee Wood, of the NBS, and Jean Daley, sister in charge of the collection team.

Laura Summers, spokeswoman for the NBS, said council staff who donated blood "really are lifesavers".

She said: "At each session held, we collect approximately 150 donations of blood, which makes a significant contribution to the 170 donations needed by patients in the Durham area each week.

"We hope staff here continue to roll up their sleeves."

* For more information about giving blood, call (0845) 7711711, or visit the website www.blood.co.uk. Blood donor sessions are held in the region each day. To find a session near you, visit the website and enter your postcode.

Read more about the Life Blood campaign here.