1. The first successful blood transfusion was carried out in 1665 between two animals.
2. Blood groups were discovered as recently as 1900 by Viennese scientist Dr Karl Lansteiner, who was rewarded with the Nobel Prize.
3. A whopping 51% of the population have type O blood, this is the type needed with the most urgency.
4. There are four basic types of blood groups, A, B, O and AB. The most common and oldest type of blood group is O; Elvis Presley, Prince Charles and Charlie Chaplin and 26 million people in the UK have this blood group.
5. If you're booked in for surgery you can reduce your need for blood during the procedure if you eat iron-rich foods such as red meat and green leafy vegetables in the weeks before. Stopping aspirin or warfarin can also reduce the amount of bleeding during surgery, so it's worth checking to see if your GP or consultant wants you to come off these.

Where to find out more?

There are 23,000 blood donation sessions in the UK every year, to find out when there is one near where you live, call the National Blood Donor Help Line on 0845 9090 999 or visit www.blood.co.uk or www.scotblood.co.uk if you live in Scotland.

Source of all statistics: National Blood Service.