It may be a message that’s sent out every year, but donating blood during the festive season is just as important as ever.
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The Red Cross Blood Service has put the call out for Hunter residents to roll up their sleeves and donate blood during the Christmas and new year period, given that the Maitland branch needs another 150 donations to avoid a shortage this holiday season.
It’s particularly important that people donate between Christmas and New Year’s Day, because that’s a time when blood stores traditionally drop to crisis levels.
By donating blood, you could be instrumental in saving lives.
According to Red Cross, each blood donation can be used for as many as 22 medical treatments.
For many people, victims of car crashes and serious incidents may commonly spring to mind when the issue of blood donation is raised.
But Red Cross data shows that only about 2 per cent of donations are used for patients involved in some sort of trauma or road crash.
The data shows that about 34 per cent of donations help treat cancer and blood diseases, while 18 per cent is used for surgery, including open-heart procedures, and burns patients.
Given how common cancer and heart disease are, this statistic should strike a chord with Maitland residents.
Many people would have a family member or friend who will benefit from a blood donation at some point in their life.
It doesn’t take a long time and isn’t a great hassle – you might even get some free biscuits out of the deal.
If you meet the health requirements to donate, there’s no excuse for not making time to add to Maitland’s blood stores.
