Stocks of critical Australian medical supply plunge to decade-low
Australian blood supplies have reached a decade-low after plummeting 60 per cent.
The dip in supplies since June follows a record-long cold and flu season that ruled out a large chunk of regular donors, leaving more than 1200 donor seats empty.
Even minor cold and flu symptoms prevent people from donating, which has resulted in widespread empty donor chairs. Lifeblood Australia
Lifeblood chief customer officer Cath Stone has since launched a critical appeal searching for 16,000 donors, calling on anybody who is well enough to roll up their sleeve.
“While these safeguards, alongside rigorous donor screening and testing, help ensure Australia’s blood supply remains very safe, they also mean fewer people can donate,” Stone said.
She said blood donations are struggling to keep up with hospital demand, with type O blood in particular remaining under significant strain.
“That’s why we urgently need everyone who is eligible and well to make an appointment to give blood as soon as possible.”
Despite just three per cent of the population donating blood, the demand remains high this spring due to a combination of factors.
“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,” Stone said.
A state-by-state breakdown found that the nation needs more than 16,000 donors, with more than 10,000 needed in NSW and Victoria alone.
“Donating blood is an easy way to find out your blood type, and all types are needed by patients right now,” Stone said.
Despite tens of thousands of people donating in response to Lifeblood’s recent winter appeals, supplies of the most common blood types are critically low. Lifeblood Australia
The crash comes less than a year after the Bondi terror attack, when Lifeblood Australia’s website crashed because of the sheer number of people trying to find out where they could donate blood.
Its Sydney centre had lines snaking out the door and down the block the day after the terror attack as hundreds turned up to donate.
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