A lifesaving item thousands of Australians rely on each day is in dangerously short supply. Here’s why – and what you can do to help.
Aussie hospitals are in desperate need of blood after back-to-back disasters have smashed supplies.
Floods, road closures, the flu season and Covid-19 are all being blamed for reducing people’s ability to donate life-saving blood.
With the impact of recent flooding, stocks in NSW have been particularly hard hit.
Supplies of platelets are being sent to the state from Queensland and Victoria, but an additional 5500 donors are required this week to meet national demand.
“Many Sydneysiders and those on the north and south coasts of NSW have been impacted by devastating flood events; the inability to leave home to donate blood or prioritise this right now is understandable,” Lifeblood spokesperson Cath Stone said.
“In addition, colds, flu and Covid are continuing to sideline donors, with one in two appointments not being attended. Disruptions to public transport and school holidays could also be keeping donors away.
“As a national organisation, we need others around the country to step up and ensure patients continue to receive the blood and blood products they need.”
Platelets are the part of blood used to stop bleeding in accidents, emergencies and chemotherapy.
However, they also only have a shelf life of seven days and therefore cannot be stockpiled.
On a normal week, 33,000 donations are needed. Around one third of them usually come from donors in NSW.
All blood types are required, but the call is particularly strong for O negative donors – the universal blood type used in emergencies.
“We need an additional 700 O negative blood donations over the next week to meet demand,” Ms Stone said.
“If you are O negative, someone in your family could be too, so please talk to your family and encourage them to donate.”
Originally published as ‘Step up’: Real reason for deadly Aussie crisis
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