Countdown star Rachel Riley is known to be one of the kindest celebrities out there, even opening her and Pasha Kovalev's home to a Ukrainian family, so it came as no surprise on Thursday when Rachel revealed she'd done another kind deed.
The former Strictly contestant took to Instagram to share that she had just given blood for the 20th time, posting a photo of herself during the process, smiling during the procedure. Rachel was extra pleased with her milestone, as it was the first time since she gave birth to her daughter Noa, in November 2021.
"Just managed my 20th blood donation @givebloodnhs the first successful attempt since babies, woohoo!" she celebrated.
Rachel's first daughter, Maven, was born in 2019, and the maths wizard has been unable to give blood since then due to low iron. She explained how she got her levels to the point of donation, writing: "Last time into my third year of breastfeeding my iron was too low, but @wildnutritionltd will be pleased to hear that their iron and vitamins supplements are working as this time they had to use their machine to check my levels weren’t too high to donate! (They were perfect)."
Rachel's fans were impressed by her donation, commenting: "Congratulations, I admire anyone that gives blood. You are a lifesaver," and: "Thank you Rachel. From someone who has had an eight-unit transfusion to save my life, thank you so much."
Another joked: "Imagine needing a blood transfusion and unknowingly receiving Rachel Riley’s blood!"
Rachel is lucky she managed to get her iron levels up, as her choice to go vegan could impact her iron levels – hence the supplementation, as it's harder for our bodies to absorb iron from plant-based sources than it is from meat.
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Her decision to go plant-based was health-related, however. "In 2018, Pasha and I went vegan and there were loads of reasons but I was ill with food, so I cut eggs and diary and I started eating in vegan restaurants and realised the food was really good and we didn't have to eat meat and then we gave up fish," she told the Mail Online.
"I was ill for over ten years and the doctors were quite useless about it and I gave up some foods and was literally so much better overnight," added Rachel. "I didn't realise how bad I was feeling until I wasn't feeling bad."
We're glad Rachel has found a lifestyle that works for her – and allows her to donate blood!