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BBC News
9 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Plea to plasma donors as Reading centre moves
A plasma donation centre has urged people to continue to donate as it moves to a new temporary NHS plasma donor centre has opened at Reading Bridge House - a mile away from its original location in the town.A new permanent centre is due to open next Rashid, assistant director for plasma operations at NHS Blood and Transplant, said the "support and commitment" from donors in the area was "amazing". Plasma is used to produce lifesaving medicines which are vital for patients with a wide range of conditions, including immune deficiencies, burns and liver opening in April 2021, more than 4,470 people have become Reading centre has the largest number of plasma donors out of the three dedicated centres in England, the NHS April 2024 and March 2025 it collected more than 8,668 litres of Rashid said: "We are grateful for all the support we have received from all our local donors and encourage everyone to please continue to donate plasma at the temporary centre until our permanent centre is open."We also encourage new people to think about donating plasma for the first time... your support is crucial to help us save and improve lives."Matt Rodda, MP for Reading Central, said: "I would like to thank the hardworking staff and the generous donors who have made the Reading Plasma Donor Centre such a success." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Time capsule buried as Reading landmark development opens
Schoolchildren have buried a time capsule at the heart of a town's new landmark development to mark the site's official £850m mixed-use Station Hill development was being launched to the public on Saturday, amid live music, an artists' trail and tours of residential opening comes after an investigation into a blaze in a high-rise building on the Berkshire site said the construction industry had shared "lessons learned" from the incident "to prevent future occurrences".A worker on the development was rescued by crane operator Glen Edwards when it caught fire in November 2023. On Thursday, pupils from Civitas Academy buried the time capsule beneath a fountain next to the One Station Hill with artwork, a newspaper, a train ticket and the bottom of a Christmas tree, it was sealed in the ground to be opened again in 2060. Children from the primary school had worked on the project since returning to their classrooms after the Covid pandemic. More than 50 Year 5 students took part in the capsule burial, which was also attended by local MP Matt Rodda and Reading Borough Council leader Liz Frain, head of school at the academy, said they began working with local charity JellyArts on the project in said: "It was quite fresh after the pandemic. A lot of our children and families were rebuilding, not only relationships with each other but also relationships with places and spaces that had changed a lot."So for our children to be part of something in the wider community, particularly in the town centre which not many would have been in throughout that time, was really important to them feeling safe and confident in building those relationships again." Ten-year-old Lily helped to bury the capsule and told the BBC: "It's very exciting, knowing I'm part of something special."Her classmate Thivigka, 10, said she was "really proud of myself because I never knew I'd do this". You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
