A 22-year-old who has leukaemia is urging people to donate platelets and help save a life.

Olga Iturri-Tyler, received more than 100 units of red blood cells and plasma after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in April 2017.

Her cancer is now remission and she has maintenance chemotherapy once a week.

She is just about to start her third year studying history and politics at Oxford University, after a missing a term of her second year due to treatment.

She said: “Donating blood and platelets is amazing – a really beautiful thing to do. I feel so much gratitude to everyone who donates.

“My family have been really involved in donating and my boyfriend organised a blood donation drive.

“I felt like I had so much more energy when I had a blood transfusion and the platelets helped stop the internal bleeding.”

The NHS Blood and Transplant needs more than 500 new platelet donors at its donor centres in London, in Edgware, Tooting and the West End.

Platelets are blood cells that are crucial for patients with blood cancers such as leukaemia, and a range of illnesses and accidents.

London uses 77,000 units of platelets a year and NHS Blood and Transplant need more new donors, particularly group A blood type, to help keep up with demand.

More than half the platelets issued go to patients with blood cancer and NHS Blood and Transplant is making the appeal to mark the end of Blood Cancer Awareness Month (September).

The London platelet donation centres are:

• Tooting Blood Donor Centre (site of Ste George’s Hospital) 75 Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RB

• Edgware Blood Donor Centre (site of Edgware Community Hospital), Burnt Oak Broadway, Edgware HA8 0AD.

• West End Blood Donor Centre, 26 Margaret St, Marylebone, London W1W 8NB.

It particularly needs A negative donors because their platelets can be given safely to any patient.

Abi Howse, patient information manager at blood cancer charity Bloodwise, said: “Platelets are important cells that help your blood to clot and prevent bleeding.

“But leukaemia and other blood cancers, and cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, can cause the number of platelets in your blood to reduce.

“This puts people with cancer at risk of serious bleeding, and is why many people need platelet transfusions.

“By donating platelets at London’s donor centres, you can help people with cancer through their treatment and save lives locally and around the country.”

To register your interest in giving platelets speak to donor centre staff at your next donation of please visit www.platelets.blood.co.uk