Friends of Bradford Royal Infirmary has given life-saving equipment valued at £18,000 to the hospital’s surgical theatres and anaesthesia department.

The specialist rapid blood transfusers quickly help replace lost blood in emergency situations – and the new machines are in the maternity unit and one of the major operating theatres.

Consultant anaesthetist Lesley Hawthorne said: “As a regional trauma and vascular centre, we undertake many major elective surgery operations and because we have one of the region’s largest maternity units, we also have a significant proportion of high risk pregnancies.

“All these surgical procedures carry a high risk of massive blood loss and rapid blood infusers help us to give our patients large amounts of life-sustaining fluids, warmed to physiological temperature, which they desperately need as quickly and as safely as possible.

“This cutting-edge equipment, bought for our patients by the Friends of the BRI, is greatly appreciated and we can’t thank the volunteers enough for their very generous donation.”

The BRI’s A&E department already has two rapid blood transfusers. It got its first around a decade ago helping save the lives of major trauma patients.

Acting Head of Nursing (Surgery and Anaesthesia) Jayne Marran, said: “The purchase of rapid infusion devices will undoubtedly benefit the Bradford public should they, their relatives or loved ones, ever experience massive blood loss in the course of their lives.”

The Friends of the BRI gives thousands of pounds of equipment for the benefit of patients every year. Last year the group gave £60,000 of gifts to the hospital, including a machine and bladder scanner to elderly care wards, new broadcasting equipment for Radio Royal, furniture for the new birth centre and 1,000 resource packs for carers of dementia patients.

The majority of volunteers’ funds are raised through their three tea-bars in the ear, nose and throat outpatients’ department, the maternity building and the orthopaedics outpatients’ department.

Anyone interested in learning more about volunteering, should call Chris Heaton at Christine.heaton@bthft .nhs.uk or call (01274) 364309.