Australian Red Cross Blood Service Needs Your HELP!

Winter can be a difficult time for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service.

We have a very loyal list of donors who donate whenever they are able, be it fortnightly for plasma or every three months for whole blood. Unfortunately, winter coughs, colds and flus impact our donors as much as anyone and in order to donate blood, you need to be feeling fit and well a week prior to your donation. This means that some of our regular donors aren’t able to donate as regularly as they usually do.

So, every winter, the Blood Service calls on people who have never donated before, or haven’t donated for a while, to make a donation. Because blood only has a short shelf life, we aren’t able to stockpile donations for when we have a downturn in donors. This means that there can be particular strain on stocks coming up to public holidays and over Winter, which is why it is so important for new donors to try their arm at donating blood. We need more than 25 000 donations every week to provide to patients in need.

Blood donation is a very simple process, and the donation itself only takes between five and ten minutes. It’s a great chance to relax and take some ‘me’ time, all the while helping patients in need.
We’ll also be setting up our Mobile Donor Centre on North Lakes Drive, outside the Good Guys, between Tuesday the 18th and Friday the 21st of June. There is also a permanent Donor Centre at Strathpine, only 15 minutes down the road from North Lakes. Located at 349 Gympie Road, Strathpine, it is open 6 days a week, with sessions available both early morning, late evening, and on weekends, so that everyone can find a time to donate that suits them.

If you are interested in donating, or would like more information, you can visit donateblood.com.au, or phone 13 14 95.

If you run a business, or would like to donate as part of a community or church group, the Blood Service runs a group donation program called Red25. For more information on Red25, please call Liam Richardson on 3624 0407, or email lrichardson@redcrossblood.org.au.