Alasdair Anderson
“We are regular donors but this one is for Noa and Maddy”
40 donations recorded
Enough blood for 2.2 operations like Mad’s
£8,570 raised
Enough to protect 1714 children from malaria
On the evening of Thursday 16th April, my wife Mad became aware that she hadn't felt our baby move for a few hours. She was almost 40 weeks pregnant - and the pregnancy had, up to this point, been completely trouble-free. We went into the Royal London, where they scanned her immediately and told us that our daughter had died in utero.
After a few hours to process, we decided to induce labour. Mad was absolutely incredible - I will never forget how strong she was. By Saturday morning, she had been fully dilated for several hours and was starting to seem unwell. The safest course of action was to complete the delivery in theatre under general anaesthetic.
Our daughter Noa was delivered around 2pm on Saturday 18th April. The delivery itself was straightforward, but it quickly became obvious in theatre how much Mad's condition had deteriorated. She had sepsis, plancental abruption and a disorder called Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation, which prevented her blood from clotting. She started to bleed heavily. Over a couple of hours, she lost nine litres of blood - around twice as much as she would normally have in her body at any one time.
She would certainly have died if she hadn't been supported by extensive blood transfusions - or if she hadn't been in the care of an excellent and experienced team of clinicians. Even with sufficient blood on hand, the situation was very serious. She was transferred from the operating theatre to the Intensive Treatment Unit, where she remained in a medically-induced coma for several days. She has since been steadily recovering, getting a little better every day. We are hopeful that she will make a full recovery.
So many of our friends and family have offered us their help over the last few weeks. We are very grateful and will definitely need you over the months and years to come. For now, we would like to offer a practical outlet for that love and support. So we've created this website to encourage people to give blood, and to track the blood that has been donated in support of Mad and in memory of our daughter, Noa Ruth Maxwell.
Some of you may donate only once - which would still be greatly appreciated - but I hope that some of you will make a habit of it, as regular donors are much more useful for maintaining good supplies. For those of you who cannot give blood (or who are feeling particularly generous), we've also set up a fundraiser - details below.
We will mourn our daughter for the rest of our lives. I also know that I came within an inch of losing both my daughter and my wife - something that I would never have recovered from. So I will be forever grateful to everyone who donated the blood that saved Mad's life. And, if you are able, I would truly appreciate it if you would take the time to do the same, so that others can benefit from the life-saving medical care that they need.
Dave, 5th May 2026

“We are regular donors but this one is for Noa and Maddy”
“in honor of little Noa and the resilient family she’ll always be a part of <3”
“Hi, I know we haven’t met, but I’m Todd’s girlfriend. I was so sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter and everything you’ve been through. I donated blood today and wanted to let you know you’ve been in my thoughts. Wishing you strength and healing. ❤️ Ruby xx”
“Love to you all xxx”
“Thinking of you and Noa today especially ❤️”
“In memory of precious Noa, with love to David and Mad x”
“Thinking of you both, and beautiful Noa. I’m so grateful you got the care you needed, and hope many others will receive the same in yours and Noa’s names.”
“Will think of you and your daughter Noa every time I donate - which will be a lot more regularly in future!”

“First successful blood donation.”

“Good to have some time to slow down and think about how precious life and the people you love are.”

“Blood donated today with pleasure”

“I'm so glad to have been inspired by Noa and Mad to do this!”
“For Noa, Mad & Dave. What an incredible way to honour and remember your beautiful daughter.”

“Love you guys so much ❤️”
“In memory of Noa and for the wonderful Dave and Maddy xx”

“So much love for Noa, Mad, Dave and the community that surrounds all of you. XO from afar”
“In memory of baby Noa”

“Love you guys <3 I didn’t quite make a full donation this time (need to train my body to not feel faint!!), I will try again in 4 months. It was still really cool seeing all the strangers around me giving blood, and felt grateful 🩵”

“I’m so sorry for everything you have been going through - what a lovely initiative this is to do a positive thing. Sending best wishes to you both.”
“Thinking of Noa, and of all that you’ve been through. Love you both X”

“For Noa Ruth Maxwell. Sending all of my love.”

“Thinking of you all lots. Tilda and Willow xx”

“Thank you Maddy and Dave for inspiring a hopefully lifetime habit of giving.”
“What a wonderful thing you have both done out of awful circumstances. This is for Madeleine, baby Noa (and Dave for setting it up)”
“I intend to make this a four monthly practice. There was life before this happened and there is life now. Donating my blood regularly is a part of how I intend to actively grieve and feel gratitude. I will forever be grateful to the people that donated their blood and saved Madeleine. I will always miss and love Noa. Part of what is helping me to adjust to life as it is now, is to find ways to be proactive in how I show and share my love in a meaningful way. I love you Mad and Dave x”
“In support of Mad and in memory of your daughter, Noa Ruth Maxwell”

“To my amazing brother and my incredible sister-in-law, I'm sending all my love, and pints and pints of my blood, in memory of your beautiful baby girl Noa, my precious little niece ❤️”
“Inspired by Maddy’s recovery I donated blood for the first time last week and vow to become a lifetime regular donor in memory of Noa. Forever grateful that blood donations saved my friend and save countless others daily!”
“I don’t know what to say really, apart from that you’ve all been in my thoughts pretty constantly the last few weeks. Will now be a regular donor here in Manchester. For Noa xx”
“I donated the day before I last saw you both. Never did I imagine that our darling Maddy would need life-saving transfusions just one week later. I'm heartbroken that it came to that, but so grateful that there was enough blood available for her. I'll be sure to donate regularly, in gratitude for what it can do ❤️”
“I am so incredibly sorry for what you are going through. I will keep donating and will think of you all each time.”
“We are regular donors but this one is for Noa and Maddy”
“in honor of little Noa and the resilient family she’ll always be a part of <3”
“Hi, I know we haven’t met, but I’m Todd’s girlfriend. I was so sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter and everything you’ve been through. I donated blood today and wanted to let you know you’ve been in my thoughts. Wishing you strength and healing. ❤️ Ruby xx”
“Love to you all xxx”
“Thinking of you and Noa today especially ❤️”
“In memory of precious Noa, with love to David and Mad x”
“Thinking of you both, and beautiful Noa. I’m so grateful you got the care you needed, and hope many others will receive the same in yours and Noa’s names.”
“Will think of you and your daughter Noa every time I donate - which will be a lot more regularly in future!”

“First successful blood donation.”

“Good to have some time to slow down and think about how precious life and the people you love are.”

“Blood donated today with pleasure”

“I'm so glad to have been inspired by Noa and Mad to do this!”
“For Noa, Mad & Dave. What an incredible way to honour and remember your beautiful daughter.”

“Love you guys so much ❤️”
“In memory of Noa and for the wonderful Dave and Maddy xx”

“So much love for Noa, Mad, Dave and the community that surrounds all of you. XO from afar”
“In memory of baby Noa”

“Love you guys <3 I didn’t quite make a full donation this time (need to train my body to not feel faint!!), I will try again in 4 months. It was still really cool seeing all the strangers around me giving blood, and felt grateful 🩵”

“I’m so sorry for everything you have been going through - what a lovely initiative this is to do a positive thing. Sending best wishes to you both.”
“Thinking of Noa, and of all that you’ve been through. Love you both X”

“For Noa Ruth Maxwell. Sending all of my love.”

“Thinking of you all lots. Tilda and Willow xx”

“Thank you Maddy and Dave for inspiring a hopefully lifetime habit of giving.”
“What a wonderful thing you have both done out of awful circumstances. This is for Madeleine, baby Noa (and Dave for setting it up)”
“I intend to make this a four monthly practice. There was life before this happened and there is life now. Donating my blood regularly is a part of how I intend to actively grieve and feel gratitude. I will forever be grateful to the people that donated their blood and saved Madeleine. I will always miss and love Noa. Part of what is helping me to adjust to life as it is now, is to find ways to be proactive in how I show and share my love in a meaningful way. I love you Mad and Dave x”
“In support of Mad and in memory of your daughter, Noa Ruth Maxwell”

“To my amazing brother and my incredible sister-in-law, I'm sending all my love, and pints and pints of my blood, in memory of your beautiful baby girl Noa, my precious little niece ❤️”
“Inspired by Maddy’s recovery I donated blood for the first time last week and vow to become a lifetime regular donor in memory of Noa. Forever grateful that blood donations saved my friend and save countless others daily!”
“I don’t know what to say really, apart from that you’ve all been in my thoughts pretty constantly the last few weeks. Will now be a regular donor here in Manchester. For Noa xx”
“I donated the day before I last saw you both. Never did I imagine that our darling Maddy would need life-saving transfusions just one week later. I'm heartbroken that it came to that, but so grateful that there was enough blood available for her. I'll be sure to donate regularly, in gratitude for what it can do ❤️”
“I am so incredibly sorry for what you are going through. I will keep donating and will think of you all each time.”
“We are regular donors but this one is for Noa and Maddy”
“in honor of little Noa and the resilient family she’ll always be a part of <3”
“Hi, I know we haven’t met, but I’m Todd’s girlfriend. I was so sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter and everything you’ve been through. I donated blood today and wanted to let you know you’ve been in my thoughts. Wishing you strength and healing. ❤️ Ruby xx”
“Love to you all xxx”
“Thinking of you and Noa today especially ❤️”
“In memory of precious Noa, with love to David and Mad x”
“Thinking of you both, and beautiful Noa. I’m so grateful you got the care you needed, and hope many others will receive the same in yours and Noa’s names.”
“Will think of you and your daughter Noa every time I donate - which will be a lot more regularly in future!”

“First successful blood donation.”

“Good to have some time to slow down and think about how precious life and the people you love are.”

“Blood donated today with pleasure”

“I'm so glad to have been inspired by Noa and Mad to do this!”
“For Noa, Mad & Dave. What an incredible way to honour and remember your beautiful daughter.”

“Love you guys so much ❤️”
“In memory of Noa and for the wonderful Dave and Maddy xx”

“So much love for Noa, Mad, Dave and the community that surrounds all of you. XO from afar”
“In memory of baby Noa”

“Love you guys <3 I didn’t quite make a full donation this time (need to train my body to not feel faint!!), I will try again in 4 months. It was still really cool seeing all the strangers around me giving blood, and felt grateful 🩵”

“I’m so sorry for everything you have been going through - what a lovely initiative this is to do a positive thing. Sending best wishes to you both.”
“Thinking of Noa, and of all that you’ve been through. Love you both X”

“For Noa Ruth Maxwell. Sending all of my love.”

“Thinking of you all lots. Tilda and Willow xx”

“Thank you Maddy and Dave for inspiring a hopefully lifetime habit of giving.”
“What a wonderful thing you have both done out of awful circumstances. This is for Madeleine, baby Noa (and Dave for setting it up)”
“I intend to make this a four monthly practice. There was life before this happened and there is life now. Donating my blood regularly is a part of how I intend to actively grieve and feel gratitude. I will forever be grateful to the people that donated their blood and saved Madeleine. I will always miss and love Noa. Part of what is helping me to adjust to life as it is now, is to find ways to be proactive in how I show and share my love in a meaningful way. I love you Mad and Dave x”
“In support of Mad and in memory of your daughter, Noa Ruth Maxwell”

“To my amazing brother and my incredible sister-in-law, I'm sending all my love, and pints and pints of my blood, in memory of your beautiful baby girl Noa, my precious little niece ❤️”
“Inspired by Maddy’s recovery I donated blood for the first time last week and vow to become a lifetime regular donor in memory of Noa. Forever grateful that blood donations saved my friend and save countless others daily!”
“I don’t know what to say really, apart from that you’ve all been in my thoughts pretty constantly the last few weeks. Will now be a regular donor here in Manchester. For Noa xx”
“I donated the day before I last saw you both. Never did I imagine that our darling Maddy would need life-saving transfusions just one week later. I'm heartbroken that it came to that, but so grateful that there was enough blood available for her. I'll be sure to donate regularly, in gratitude for what it can do ❤️”
“I am so incredibly sorry for what you are going through. I will keep donating and will think of you all each time.”
“We are regular donors but this one is for Noa and Maddy”
“in honor of little Noa and the resilient family she’ll always be a part of <3”
“Hi, I know we haven’t met, but I’m Todd’s girlfriend. I was so sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter and everything you’ve been through. I donated blood today and wanted to let you know you’ve been in my thoughts. Wishing you strength and healing. ❤️ Ruby xx”
“Love to you all xxx”
“Thinking of you and Noa today especially ❤️”
“In memory of precious Noa, with love to David and Mad x”
“Thinking of you both, and beautiful Noa. I’m so grateful you got the care you needed, and hope many others will receive the same in yours and Noa’s names.”
“Will think of you and your daughter Noa every time I donate - which will be a lot more regularly in future!”

“First successful blood donation.”

“Good to have some time to slow down and think about how precious life and the people you love are.”

“Blood donated today with pleasure”

“I'm so glad to have been inspired by Noa and Mad to do this!”
“For Noa, Mad & Dave. What an incredible way to honour and remember your beautiful daughter.”

“Love you guys so much ❤️”
“In memory of Noa and for the wonderful Dave and Maddy xx”

“So much love for Noa, Mad, Dave and the community that surrounds all of you. XO from afar”
“In memory of baby Noa”

“Love you guys <3 I didn’t quite make a full donation this time (need to train my body to not feel faint!!), I will try again in 4 months. It was still really cool seeing all the strangers around me giving blood, and felt grateful 🩵”

“I’m so sorry for everything you have been going through - what a lovely initiative this is to do a positive thing. Sending best wishes to you both.”
“Thinking of Noa, and of all that you’ve been through. Love you both X”

“For Noa Ruth Maxwell. Sending all of my love.”

“Thinking of you all lots. Tilda and Willow xx”

“Thank you Maddy and Dave for inspiring a hopefully lifetime habit of giving.”
“What a wonderful thing you have both done out of awful circumstances. This is for Madeleine, baby Noa (and Dave for setting it up)”
“I intend to make this a four monthly practice. There was life before this happened and there is life now. Donating my blood regularly is a part of how I intend to actively grieve and feel gratitude. I will forever be grateful to the people that donated their blood and saved Madeleine. I will always miss and love Noa. Part of what is helping me to adjust to life as it is now, is to find ways to be proactive in how I show and share my love in a meaningful way. I love you Mad and Dave x”
“In support of Mad and in memory of your daughter, Noa Ruth Maxwell”

“To my amazing brother and my incredible sister-in-law, I'm sending all my love, and pints and pints of my blood, in memory of your beautiful baby girl Noa, my precious little niece ❤️”
“Inspired by Maddy’s recovery I donated blood for the first time last week and vow to become a lifetime regular donor in memory of Noa. Forever grateful that blood donations saved my friend and save countless others daily!”
“I don’t know what to say really, apart from that you’ve all been in my thoughts pretty constantly the last few weeks. Will now be a regular donor here in Manchester. For Noa xx”
“I donated the day before I last saw you both. Never did I imagine that our darling Maddy would need life-saving transfusions just one week later. I'm heartbroken that it came to that, but so grateful that there was enough blood available for her. I'll be sure to donate regularly, in gratitude for what it can do ❤️”
“I am so incredibly sorry for what you are going through. I will keep donating and will think of you all each time.”
“We are regular donors but this one is for Noa and Maddy”
“in honor of little Noa and the resilient family she’ll always be a part of <3”
“Hi, I know we haven’t met, but I’m Todd’s girlfriend. I was so sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter and everything you’ve been through. I donated blood today and wanted to let you know you’ve been in my thoughts. Wishing you strength and healing. ❤️ Ruby xx”
“Love to you all xxx”
“Thinking of you and Noa today especially ❤️”
“In memory of precious Noa, with love to David and Mad x”
“Thinking of you both, and beautiful Noa. I’m so grateful you got the care you needed, and hope many others will receive the same in yours and Noa’s names.”
“Will think of you and your daughter Noa every time I donate - which will be a lot more regularly in future!”

“First successful blood donation.”

“Good to have some time to slow down and think about how precious life and the people you love are.”

“Blood donated today with pleasure”

“I'm so glad to have been inspired by Noa and Mad to do this!”
“For Noa, Mad & Dave. What an incredible way to honour and remember your beautiful daughter.”

“Love you guys so much ❤️”
“In memory of Noa and for the wonderful Dave and Maddy xx”

“So much love for Noa, Mad, Dave and the community that surrounds all of you. XO from afar”
“In memory of baby Noa”

“Love you guys <3 I didn’t quite make a full donation this time (need to train my body to not feel faint!!), I will try again in 4 months. It was still really cool seeing all the strangers around me giving blood, and felt grateful 🩵”

“I’m so sorry for everything you have been going through - what a lovely initiative this is to do a positive thing. Sending best wishes to you both.”
“Thinking of Noa, and of all that you’ve been through. Love you both X”

“For Noa Ruth Maxwell. Sending all of my love.”

“Thinking of you all lots. Tilda and Willow xx”

“Thank you Maddy and Dave for inspiring a hopefully lifetime habit of giving.”
“What a wonderful thing you have both done out of awful circumstances. This is for Madeleine, baby Noa (and Dave for setting it up)”
“I intend to make this a four monthly practice. There was life before this happened and there is life now. Donating my blood regularly is a part of how I intend to actively grieve and feel gratitude. I will forever be grateful to the people that donated their blood and saved Madeleine. I will always miss and love Noa. Part of what is helping me to adjust to life as it is now, is to find ways to be proactive in how I show and share my love in a meaningful way. I love you Mad and Dave x”
“In support of Mad and in memory of your daughter, Noa Ruth Maxwell”

“To my amazing brother and my incredible sister-in-law, I'm sending all my love, and pints and pints of my blood, in memory of your beautiful baby girl Noa, my precious little niece ❤️”
“Inspired by Maddy’s recovery I donated blood for the first time last week and vow to become a lifetime regular donor in memory of Noa. Forever grateful that blood donations saved my friend and save countless others daily!”
“I don’t know what to say really, apart from that you’ve all been in my thoughts pretty constantly the last few weeks. Will now be a regular donor here in Manchester. For Noa xx”
“I donated the day before I last saw you both. Never did I imagine that our darling Maddy would need life-saving transfusions just one week later. I'm heartbroken that it came to that, but so grateful that there was enough blood available for her. I'll be sure to donate regularly, in gratitude for what it can do ❤️”
“I am so incredibly sorry for what you are going through. I will keep donating and will think of you all each time.”
“We are regular donors but this one is for Noa and Maddy”
“in honor of little Noa and the resilient family she’ll always be a part of <3”
“Hi, I know we haven’t met, but I’m Todd’s girlfriend. I was so sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter and everything you’ve been through. I donated blood today and wanted to let you know you’ve been in my thoughts. Wishing you strength and healing. ❤️ Ruby xx”
“Love to you all xxx”
“Thinking of you and Noa today especially ❤️”
“In memory of precious Noa, with love to David and Mad x”
“Thinking of you both, and beautiful Noa. I’m so grateful you got the care you needed, and hope many others will receive the same in yours and Noa’s names.”
“Will think of you and your daughter Noa every time I donate - which will be a lot more regularly in future!”

“First successful blood donation.”

“Good to have some time to slow down and think about how precious life and the people you love are.”

“Blood donated today with pleasure”

“I'm so glad to have been inspired by Noa and Mad to do this!”
“For Noa, Mad & Dave. What an incredible way to honour and remember your beautiful daughter.”

“Love you guys so much ❤️”
“In memory of Noa and for the wonderful Dave and Maddy xx”

“So much love for Noa, Mad, Dave and the community that surrounds all of you. XO from afar”
“In memory of baby Noa”

“Love you guys <3 I didn’t quite make a full donation this time (need to train my body to not feel faint!!), I will try again in 4 months. It was still really cool seeing all the strangers around me giving blood, and felt grateful 🩵”

“I’m so sorry for everything you have been going through - what a lovely initiative this is to do a positive thing. Sending best wishes to you both.”
“Thinking of Noa, and of all that you’ve been through. Love you both X”

“For Noa Ruth Maxwell. Sending all of my love.”

“Thinking of you all lots. Tilda and Willow xx”

“Thank you Maddy and Dave for inspiring a hopefully lifetime habit of giving.”
“What a wonderful thing you have both done out of awful circumstances. This is for Madeleine, baby Noa (and Dave for setting it up)”
“I intend to make this a four monthly practice. There was life before this happened and there is life now. Donating my blood regularly is a part of how I intend to actively grieve and feel gratitude. I will forever be grateful to the people that donated their blood and saved Madeleine. I will always miss and love Noa. Part of what is helping me to adjust to life as it is now, is to find ways to be proactive in how I show and share my love in a meaningful way. I love you Mad and Dave x”
“In support of Mad and in memory of your daughter, Noa Ruth Maxwell”

“To my amazing brother and my incredible sister-in-law, I'm sending all my love, and pints and pints of my blood, in memory of your beautiful baby girl Noa, my precious little niece ❤️”
“Inspired by Maddy’s recovery I donated blood for the first time last week and vow to become a lifetime regular donor in memory of Noa. Forever grateful that blood donations saved my friend and save countless others daily!”
“I don’t know what to say really, apart from that you’ve all been in my thoughts pretty constantly the last few weeks. Will now be a regular donor here in Manchester. For Noa xx”
“I donated the day before I last saw you both. Never did I imagine that our darling Maddy would need life-saving transfusions just one week later. I'm heartbroken that it came to that, but so grateful that there was enough blood available for her. I'll be sure to donate regularly, in gratitude for what it can do ❤️”
“I am so incredibly sorry for what you are going through. I will keep donating and will think of you all each time.”
If you are not able to give blood, or would like to do more, you can also support a good cause. The money raised will go to the Malaria Consortium. You can donate via our Justgiving page.
Malaria kills around 600,000 people annually, mostly children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. While there isn't a very strong link between our story and Malaria Consortium, I remain someone who believes in the importance of good evidence when making donation decisions - and the evidence for the effectiveness of malaria prevention and treatment is overwhelming. Seasonal malaria chemoprevention, where children are provided with a full course of antimalarial medicines prophylactically during peak malaria season, can protect a child for as little as £5.
So please trust me that this is a good use of your money. Losing a child is always a tragedy, wherever it occurs, but particularly when it could have easily been prevented if low-cost medicines were more widely available.