GD14 Edinburgh and South East Scotland Blood Transfusion Service

Collection Summary


Reference Code: GB239 GD14
Title: Edinburgh and South East Scotland Blood Transfusion Service
Dates of Creation of Material: 1930-2001
Level of Description: Fonds
Extent and Medium of the Unit of Description: 21 shelf metres: bound volumes, papers, photographic material


Name of creator(s): Edinburgh and South East Scotland Blood Transfusion Service
Administrative History: Origins lie in the activities of Jack R Copland, an Edinburgh dentist shocked by the death of a friend due to a lack of blood donors. A member of the Holyrood Conclave of the Order of Crusaders, founded in 1921 by Lt. General Sir Edward Bethune, Copland proposed that they set up a blood donor panel and transfusion centre for the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. This began in 1930 with 26 donors, rapidly growing to 350 by 1936. In the same year the connection with the Crusaders ceased and the Edinburgh Blood Transfusion Service was founded. As a result of demands caused by World War II, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service was set up involving five regional centres, one of which was Edinburgh and South East Scotland.
Immediate Source of Acquisition or Transfer: Blood Transfusion Service, Lauriston Place, July 1989


Scope and Content: Management 1930-1999; administration 1931-1985; publicity 1936-1986; history and publications 1930-1997; donors 1931-2001; photographs
Accruals: Further accessions are expected
System of Arrangement: Chronological within record class


Conditions Governing Access: Public access to these records is governed by UK data protection legislation, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, and the current Scottish Government Records Management: NHS Code of Practice (Scotland).
Conditions Governing Reproduction: Reproduction is subject to closure periods and physical condition
Language/Scripts of Material: English

Related Units of Description:
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (LHB1)
Publication Note:
Fisher, David. The Gift of Life: the story of the blood transfusion service in Edinburgh and the South East of Scotland Edinburgh: Workers’ Educational Association, n.d.
Masson, Alastair H.B. History of the blood transfusion service in Edinburgh Edinburgh and South-East Scotland Blood Transfusion Association, 1993


Archivists' Notes: Compiled by Mike Barfoot and Jenny McDermott using existing handlists
Rules or Conventions: Description based on ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description International Council on Archives (2nd edition), 2000
Date(s) of Description: May 2000; last updated August 2009