Henry has received 19 blood transfusions during cancer treatment
One of our gorgeous Gold boys created a special ‘What’s in Our Blood?’ explainer video, released on his 6th birthday, to encourage more people to give blood and to raise awareness of Gold Geese.
Henry Turner was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in April 2020, shortly after his third birthday, and has received 19 blood transfusions during treatment.
Henry’s video features hand-drawn pictures and labels and explains the role of red and white blood cells, neutrophils and platelets. His voiceover explains that a blood transfusion is ‘where you get new blood’.
Alongside aiming to boost blood donations, Henry also hopes his video will raise awareness of Gold Geese as we have supported his family since his diagnosis. His little sister Ada, 3, makes a guest appearance too.
Henry’s mum, Natalie Turner, explains,
“Alongside chemotherapy, Henry has blood tests every week to check his blood cell counts as this shapes the treatment course he needs. As he’s grown older Henry’s taken a real interest in what’s going on inside his body and finding out his red blood cell number each week.
“When his school set a creative homework assignment about labelling parts of the body, he immediately wanted to learn more about blood and talk about his transfusions.
“Giving blood saves lives and we’re so grateful to the generous donors who made Henry’s transfusions possible. Today is his sixth birthday so we wanted to share the video more widely, to help people learn more about their blood, consider donating blood and raise awareness of Gold Geese who have helped us so much over the last three years.”
We absolutely love Henry’s explainer video and hope it encourages more people to give blood so we can help ensure hospitals have the supplies they need. We think Henry is an absolute star and hope his birthday wish to boost donations comes true.
To register as a blood donor or make an appointment visit www.blood.co.uk. For more information on Gold Geese visit www.goldgeese.org.
