YOUR vows to give up

smoking and go to the gym may not survive until February - but one new year's resolution well worth sticking to is to give blood more often in 2006.

That's the message for Worcestershire people from the National Blood Service, which needs to supply 8,000 donations of blood to hospitals in England and north Wales every single day.

However, blood has a shelf life. While red cells last for 35 days, platelets only last for five days so a constant supply of blood is needed.

Lyndsay Stewart, spokesperson for the National Blood Service, said: "Every donation could save or improve more than one life. Making a donation takes just an hour of your day, three times a year, so it's the one new year's resolution that's easy enough to keep and will make a difference to someone's life."

To be a blood donor you need to be aged between 17 and 60, weigh more than 7st 12lbs (50kg) and be in general good health.

For more information, call the national helpline on 0845 7711711 or log on to www.

blood.co.uk