A Surprise Gift

I had a small package arrive in the post on Friday. It didn't look like a Christmas present, and it's a bit soon for that anyway.  The padded bag was about A4 size and an inch thick, with an unfamiliar postmark - I don't know anyone in Bristol. Opening it revealed a small box and a letter from the Chief Executive of NHS Blood and Transplant which thanked me for my donation.

This is what the box contained:

It's sterling silver and about 2 cm in diameter.  It's a design by Liz Welch which incorporates a crossed anchor as a symbol of hope and an Ankh to represent zest for life. It also looks to me like one person reaching out to another.

The idea of an award had been puzzling me. In hospital after the operation, the transplant nurse had mentioned something about an award, but this (understandably) was not very high in my priorities at the time so I had (most unusually!) asked no questions.  Subsequently, I had looked on-line for more information and all that I had found was the new Order of St John award (see this link) which seemed to be for the relatives of deceased donors and not living donors (although some websites were not clear on this). Rigorous searching for an award on the NHSBT website revealed nothing relevant and so dismissed the question; however, having received it, I now realise that I should have been searching for "badge" not "award"!

Anyway, it looks good and I shall wear it with pride whenever I am wearing something appropriate to put it on - I'm not sure it looks right on a jersey or rugby shirt!