In light of Blood Donor Week until 15 June, the City of Casey’s mayor, Stefan Koomen, visited the Narre Warren North pop-up blood donor centre to roll up his sleeve for the first time.
In recognition of Australia’s blood donors who make life-changing differences to those in need, Koomen said that “with more than 1.7 million donations needed every year to meet the growing demand for blood products in Australia, I encourage all eligible residents to book an appointment today”.
Speaking on his first time experience, Koomen said that the staff were welcoming, and ensured that he was comfortable from “Bradley at the front-of-house to Lily and Chloe who looked after me during and after the donation”.
“The whole process was quick and easy, I was in and out within an hour, so it’s easy to go before or after work, or even during your lunch break,” he said.
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood recently released a statistic that detailed 9500 extra O positive and O negative blood donors were needed in the next seven days from 2 June, to ensure that Lifeblood can continue to meet the demands of patients across the country.
Lifeblood’s executive director, Stuart Chesneau, said that right now, “we’re seeing the highest rates of people rescheduling or cancelling their appointments since June last year”.
“Our O-type blood supplies are at their lowest level since October 2023; every day we issue close to 10,000 blood transfusions and medications to hospitals around the country to meet patient demand, and we can’t do it without people donating,” he said.
Chesneau added that O-positive and O-negative are the blood types most frequently ordered by hospitals and can both be used in emergency situations.
O negative is considered the ‘universal’ blood type, and is often stocked in ambulances and rescue helicopters so “it can be used to treat patients when their blood type is unknown”.
“Such as in times of trauma when large quantities of blood are needed in a short amount of time,” Chesneau said.
Fewer than seven per cent of the Australian population is O negative, making it one of the rarer blood types; however, its versatility means it makes up 16 per cent of the blood ordered by hospitals.
“What many people don’t know is that O positive is as safe as O negative for the majority of emergency transfusions,” Chesneau said.
“Some 40 per cent of people in Australia have O positive blood, meaning they too can help save lives in emergencies.”
Mayor Koomen has urged residents to take the time to donate, with centres located in Cranbourne West, Narre Warren North, Pakenham, Frankston, and Dandenong.
To book a donation, call 131 495, book online at www.lifeblood.com.au/ or via the DonateBlood app.
