84,000 Aussies Yet To Give Blood Or Plasma Urged To Donate

More than 84,000 Aussies have signed up to give blood or plasma this year but are yet to roll up their sleeves.

Ahead of World Blood Donor Day tomorrow, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is calling on more people to become blood and plasma donors and those donors who are yet to give to book a donation.

Lifeblood data shows of the 110,000 Australians who signed up to give blood or plasma for the first time in the past 12 months, the majority (75 per cent) still haven’t donated.

Lifeblood A/Executive Director of Donor Experience, Brett King said this shows the thought is there for so many people, which is wonderful, but they need a reminder to follow through.

“Today ahead of World Blood Donor Day, we’re thanking all our current donors for their generosity and life-saving donations. However, with the demand for blood and blood products growing, we need more people to make blood or plasma donation a regular, life-saving habit,” he said.

“Our amazing current donors can’t do it alone. Australia needs a new blood donor every four minutes.

“The World Blood Donor Day theme this year ‘Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often’ highlights the importance of donating regularly to ensure blood and blood products are always available.

“It takes just an hour of your time to donate blood and every donation can help save up to three lives.”

World Blood Donor Day falls during National Blood Donor Week (12-18 June), Australia’s celebration of the half a million extraordinary donors who give 1.6 million donations and save lives each year.

To celebrate National Blood Donor Week, Lifeblood has also teamed up with Australian‑based illustration brand, Min Pin, to create a limited-edition bandage, which will be rolled on to the arms of donors who donate at Lifeblood donor centres throughout June.

This month’s bandage is a colourful flock of birds flying high together, which is symbolic of our community of blood and plasma donors.