IPSWICH blood donor Rhys Owens has marked his 325th donation with a call for more locals to roll up their sleeves, as Australian Red Cross Lifeblood urgently seeks another 300 donors in Ipswich each week.
Mr Owens reached the milestone last week amid a critical national shortage, with blood supplies falling 60 per cent since June and reserves at their lowest level in almost a decade.
“This milestone donation means everything to me. It’s nice to be recognised doing something for my community,” Mr Owens said.
“And it’s kind of scary how low our blood stocks are right now. I’m hoping the social media push is going to inspire a wave of new donors.”
Mr Owens said the local donor centre’s recently extended hours offered more opportunities for residents to get involved.
“Australia’s supply levels are at their lowest in 10 years so I would say that if you’ve never donated before, right now is the time to give it a go. Especially with our local donor centre having extended their hours recently,” he said.
More than 16,000 additional donors are needed across Australia this week, including 3000 in Queensland.
Despite tens of thousands of Australians responding to winter appeals, donations have failed to keep pace with hospital demand, with supplies of the most common blood types are critically low, with type O blood under particular pressure.
Lifeblood chief customer officer Cath Stone said illness had continued to affect donor numbers well into spring, leaving fewer people able to give blood when hospitals needed it.
“An ageing population, increased cancer prevalence, and longer life expectancies are just a few of the reasons we’re seeing demand continuing to grow for both blood and plasma treatments,” Ms Stone said.
“That’s why we urgently need everyone who is eligible and well to make an appointment to give blood as soon as possible.”
