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COMMENT
I have a very strong childhood memory of my mum screwing up the courage to go and donate blood at her local blood bank and coming home full of relief that she didn't have to go through with it. She was taking tablets for hay fever at the time and her blood wasn't suitable. She's passed her squeamishness on to me because although I have thought about giving blood, I'm ashamed to say that I've never been able to bring myself to do it. I once passed out in the maternity ward of a hospital when visiting a friend who'd just given birth simply because all the new mothers looked so ill! Hopefully, you're not as shamefully selfish as me, in which case let me remind you to give blood when you can particularly as, at this time of year, blood stocks tend to dip by about 10%. As the National Blood Service (NBS) website says: "It's so easy to save a life. Just show up at a blood donor session, sit back and share a pint with us. That's all it takes." Only 1 in 20 people give blood and yet it's one of the most effective ways of giving. After all, 100% of the actual donation goes to relieving the need - guaranteed. If you can't bring yourself to donate blood, then consider other ways of doing your bit for your local hospital. Many have some kind of fund-raising scheme on the go to help patients. For example, through the Government's Gift Aid scheme, if you're a taxpayer making a donation, charities can reclaim the tax you've paid on it from the Inland Revenue. So if you give £10 using Gift Aid your donation is worth £12.80 to the charity. And higher rate taxpayers can cut their own tax bills by reclaiming the difference between the 22% and 40% rates through their tax returns. As an alternative, you can get income tax relief for gifts to charity of shares. Sharegift accepts small holdings of shares, particularly those which are not worth selling because it would cost more than they are worth. You can offset the value of the donated shares against your tax bill. More: National Blood Service; Charitable Giving; Unusual Christmas Gifts