LET'S face it, nobody really likes the idea of having a needle put in their arm and nearly a pint of blood drawn off, and arriving at the church hall to give blood, I felt the familiar sense of apprehension.

But the sight of more than 20 people patiently queuing up to give blood in Newton Aycliffe, and another half dozen already donating, makes you realise that giving blood is no big deal.

Looking around the busy hall in Neville Parade, Newton Aycliffe, it made me think of a cross between MASH (the mobile military hospital featured in the Seventies TV comedy) and a particularly sedate jumble sale. Lots of trestle tables, lots of people on low beds giving blood, lots of nurses circulating and lots of subdued muttering.

Masses of people give blood - 1.7m in the UK to be precise. Some donate 25, 50 or 75 times or more during their lives, knowing that without their precious gift many people needing emergency blood transfusions would die and countless operations would have to be cancelled. Some - like me - give blood, drop out of the loop for a while and then come back. And some never give it a thought until they - or their loved one - needs blood from a total stranger..

It took the crisis which is about to hit the National Blood Service (NBS) to prompt me to come forward to give blood again. The NBS is praying and hoping that many more of us will do the same.

Because of the theoretical risk that anyone who has had a blood transfusion since 1980 may have been exposed to the human equivalent of mad cow disease, variant CJD, the NBS is banning anyone who has received blood from donation. No-one is quite sure how many people this will take out of the system but the best estimate is more than 52,000 nationally, around 5,000 in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

So who is a typical donor? Sitting in rows, waiting for an interview with a nurse as part of the strict screening process, I met Veronica McNeillie.

Veronica, 57, from Heighington has been giving blood for about 30 years and keeps coming back.

"It's just something you do to help others. You never know when you might want it yourself," says Veronica, who recently retired.

She's impressed by The Northern Echo's call for more blood donors but worries that young people are not getting the message. "In the main, it is mostly middle-aged or older people who come to these sessions. You don't really get the young ones coming."

That message was strongly reinforced by a man in his early 30s sitting nearby, who didn't want to give his name. "They should do more to target young people at work," he says. "You've got to take it to them. Young people don't like hanging around, they don't really come to these sessions."

Bill Relton, 66, got the donor habit when he worked at the Whessoe engineering factory in Darlington.

"When I finished there, I just carried on coming when I got the letter," says Bill, who agrees that more should be done to get into the workplace.

Bill is enthusiastic about the Echo campaign and like most regular donors - he's been coming back for 17 years - he dismisses any worries about needles or pain. "Personally, I've never been bothered about needles. It's nothing to worry about, it really doesn't hurt."

Trades union officer Derek Cattell stands out from most of the other donors because he is wearing a tie and a suit. He's come straight from work and has no doubt that is where the NBS should concentrate their efforts to recruit more donors.

"I'd like to see it based more in the workplace or people given paid time off work to give blood," says Derek, 51, who works for the GMB.

It's about the 20th time Derek has given blood and he has strong views about the importance of donation. "I think everybody should consider becoming a blood donor. It helps people regardless of their position in society, their colour or creed," he says.

"Oh... and you don't feel a thing," he adds.

Laura Summers, the NBS regional press officer who is sitting alongside me, explains: "We do try to set up sessions in workplaces but before we can consider setting up a donor session we need to have at least 100 people committed to giving blood."

As we progress towards one of three nurses sitting behind a screen, Liz, who is working as a receptionist at today's session, says the donors are "very nice, very loyal people. They are also very patient because sometimes when we are busy they have quite a long wait."

A total of 427 donors have been invited to today's session. The target is only 110 actual donations. "Realistically, you will usually only get about a quarter turning up. The last time we got 130," said Liz.

Finally I make it to the next stage. Because I had ticked a box saying I was waiting to have a routine test at my local hospital about a stomach problem, the nurse wanted to know more. After a conversation with a colleague she broke the news: until I had the results of the test I would not be able to give blood.

Crestfallen, but (I have to admit this) a tiny bit relieved, I headed back to the office.

And I haven't escaped. A letter will be sent to me in the summer and I've every intention of giving it another go.

* If you want to become a blood donor contact the NBS helpline on 0845 7711 711 or go to www.blood.co.uk. Donor sessions are held throughout the region every day.