STUDENTS are being encouraged to donate blood during their half-term.

Ealing Hospital, in collaboration with the National Blood Service, is urging eligible students aged 17 and over, to spend an hour donating a pint of blood.

The hospital is holding a one-off event on Wednesday, February 20, between 9.30am and 4pm, with a one-and-a-half hour break at 12.30pm in its Postgraduate Centre, on its Uxbridge Road site.

Currently 3,500 pints of blood are required daily for hospitals across England and North Wales.

The Health services want parents to encourage their children to donate blood at an earlier age to ease the crisis over the aging population as only three per cent of teenagers donate.

To book an appointment visit www.blood.co.uk, or call Ealing hospital on 0208 967 5459.