Many people in Cornwall will be considering giving things up for the New Year, like unhealthy food or alcohol.

But you can change your life by choosing to give.

Giving blood is amazing – you can save or improve the lives of up to three people each time you donate.

We always need new donors to ensure we have the right mix of blood groups among our donors to meet patient needs in future and to replace those people who can no longer donate.

We need more than 6,000 people to donate blood every day to meet the needs of desperately ill hospital patients.

Blood and platelets are not just used after accidents. They are used for patients with cancer, anaemia, childbirth complications, and in a wide variety of life-saving procedures.

Less than 3% of people aged 17-70 donated blood last year. Thank you to everybody who donated and helped save lives – we look forward to seeing you again in 2016.

If you’ve never given blood in Cornwall before, register to donate blood and book an appointment to donate at www.blood.co.uk. Donating only takes an hour of your time.

So please start this year by changing not just your life, but someone else’s life too, by giving blood.

Jon Latham, Assistant Director, Marketing and Donor Contact Service, NHS Blood and Transplant.