By Matthew Sims
Pakenham residents are encouraged to book in to donate blood at Lifeblood’s pop-up donor centre.
The centre is open until Friday 26 January and is set to return for another visit starting Monday 15 April.
Officer South resident Catherine Puoch was among the donors who visited on Monday 22 January.
Hailing from the UK, she was only eligible to donate blood recently, after Lifeblood changed its rules to allow those who lived in the UK due to ‘mad cow’ disease.
The human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) or ‘mad cow’ ban impacted people who lived in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the Falkland Islands for six months or more between 1980 and 1996.
Lifeblood removed the ban on donating blood in July 2022 following an in-depth risk assessment, performed by Lifeblood and UNSW Sydney’s Kirby Institute.
It found there would be no risk of acquiring human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) from blood donations and that Australia’s blood supply would remain one of the safest in the world.
Ms Puoch said she had donated three times since the ban was lifted.
“I was excited,” she said.
“It was just something that I wanted to do to help out.”
With a rare blood type of A-, Ms Puoch said she was glad to know her blood was being used to help people.
“You find out where it goes after,” she said.
Australia’s first study into blood donation eligibility, conducted by the Kirby Institute and Lifeblood and published in Transfusion, showed about 10.5 million people are eligible to donate blood in Australia.
Lifeblood Executive donor experience director Cath Stone said the organisation was excited to see more people decide to donate blood.
“The study also shows a high level of misperceptions around blood donation eligibility, including the UK change, and we believe awareness may be the single biggest barrier to lifting donation rates,” she said.
“I urge the community not to rule themselves out.
“Spread the word and encourage friends, colleagues and loved ones to check their eligibility and donate now if they can.
“After all, 1 in 3 Australians will need blood or blood products in their lifetime, so we should all think about paying it forward.”
Every week Australia needs 33,000 blood and plasma donations to keep up with demand.
While people will be relaxing over the long weekend, the need for blood never stops, particularly for cancer patients, trauma victims and new babies.
For more information about how to donate blood, phone 13 14 95, visit lifeblood.com.au or download the Donate Blood app.
