A Real Heart Of Gold...

The 16th October, a Thursday evening... was spent celebrating the true unsung heroes in our community here in South West Wales. Companies, members of the public and celebrities gathered in the Brangwyn Hall Swansea, to recognise the true heroes among us; The Local Hero Awards 2014, with The Wave and Swansea Sound radio stations. The Diamond Mine at Gold Reserves were extremely proud to present the Heart of Gold award, along with Ospreys Rugby player Ryan Bevington to Clive Evans, from Neath. Clive, aged 75, donates blood to the Welsh Blood Service and has donated, to this day an amazing 126 units of blood. And his modesty is what truly earned him this award! The amount of blood that Clive has donated to the service, means that he has helped to potentially save and improve the lives of three hundred and seventy-eight patients in Welsh Hospitals to date. This could be for a Mother during the birth of her child, or a premature baby. Sometimes babies are transfused even before they are born and are still in the womb. Cancer and leukaemia patients need blood, often daily as part of their treatment. Patients having heart operations, older patients needing hip and knee replacements, traffic accidents and many more procedures that would need blood transfusions. Clive would have helped all of these types of patients many, many times during his lifetime as a blood donor. For the average person who gives blood, you might spend an hour there, from start to finish.... Clive has spent at least 126 hours; a total of 5 days and 6 hours dedicated to donating blood and saving lives! (That also could mean well over a hundred cups of tea & biscuits too!) Peter Middleton, Director of The Diamond Mine at Gold Reserves said of the award winner: "The loyalty and dedication that Clive has given over the years is truly remarkable. I was truly humbled to watch his video on the stage and to present the award to Clive was a joy." A huge well done to every single winner on the evening - there were 15 awards, each and every one deserving their recognition and standing ovation on the night.