In its biggest fundraising drive, Magen David Adom UK has committed to raise £10 million over five years for a new logistics centre in Israel. Professor Eilat Shinar, blood services director of MDA, visited London thisweek to promote the project.

She explained that the existing Tel Aviv centre dated back to the 1980s. "When it was built no one thought war was going to reach Tel Aviv. But it has.

"It is now a very real threat for us and our current building is hugely vulnerable. If something happened to the blood centre now it would cut off Israel's blood supply, literally.

"We are the main source of emergency service and blood supply in the country - we provide 96 per cent of the blood."

The planned secure facility in Ramla will feature two underground floors protected from rocket and terrorist attacks.

"During [Operation] Protective Edge, we worked for 52 days in our current shelter, which is small," Professor Shinar recalled. "We had to move all our complicated equipment down there and had to process triple what we do normally.

"The new centre will provide the space needed to do this properly and we wouldn't have to move things in an emergency."

She added that the new location was close to three highways, making it an ideal dispatch point for blood deliveries to hospitals around the country.

"It is going to help make what we do much more efficient," Professor Shinar said.

"Israel's population is growing and we are going to have to produce more blood and extend our services.

"Today we carry out 20 to 30 blood drives a day across the country and all the units come to the centre to be processed. That is going to double in the next five years."

MDA UK chief executive Daniel Burger said fundraising would have to increase by £2 million annually to meet the target while maintaining the UK's general support for the organisation. But he was confident of achieving this.

"A dedicated campaign team will target UK donors who we hope can give six-to-seven figure sums for this project.

"We have a very generous donor base and we are hoping they will want one the 80 rooms in the centre named after them.

"Previously people have given £80,000 for an ambulance. Now instead of getting an ambulance that will only last 10 years, they will donate towards something more permanent."