A Kidlington man has received a medal for donating his 100th pint of blood.

Keith Hudson, 70, has been giving blood, and saving lives, for exactly 50 years, starting at 20 years old.

Daughter Zoe said: "I am so proud of my dad, and I couldn’t be more inspired! He also donates plasma whenever he can." 

Mr Hudson, who is a carpenter by trade, started by accident.

Zoe said: "He was on a job and the donation centre was offering free tea and biscuits and so him and his mate thought that was a good deal,!

"They found it was super easy and they had a nice chat with the nurses and he’s been doing it ever since."

The NHS Blood Donation website, where you can find out if you are eligible, reassures those who are scared of needles that they won’t be able to feel it, so you can lie back and relax (while keeping your hand/a muscle moving to keep the blood flowing).

And it adds that one of the best things about donating blood is the free snacks.

"You’ll be asked to wait for about 15 minutes to check you’re OK after your donation, during which time you can indulge in a packet of crisps or a choccy bickie – you’ve just done a good deed, and research suggests you’ll have lost around 650 calories too."

The NHS gives their regular blood and platelet donor gifts and acknowledgements to mark important credit milestones.

Frequent and valued donors can expect to receive:

1st - Welcome and thank you pack, including red donor card and key fob

5th - Bronze donor card

10th - Badge and certificate

25th - Silver donor card, badge and certificate

50th - Gold donor card, badge and certificate

75th - Emerald donor card, badge and certificate

100th - Ceremony invitation (whole blood donors), ruby donor card, commemorative medal, badge and certificate

150th - Certificate

250th - Ceremony invitation (platelet donors), commemorative medal, badge and certificate

500th - Special framed certificate

750th - Special framed certificate

1000th - Special framed certificate