THE AUSTRALIAN Red Cross Blood Service and Armidale Donor Centre are making a special request of the people of Armidale and district this Easter - give blood.
While many people are unwrapping Easter eggs or spending time with friends and family this coming long weekend, those people fighting leukaemia and other blood disorders will be relying on generous blood donations from their local community to help them through the Easter break.
Due to less collection days and the limited shelf life of some blood components, long weekends such as Easter, can challenge blood supply. For example, platelets only last five days before they expire.
Nursing unit manager Kerry Partridge for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service Armidale, says about 1200 donations of blood are needed each day across NSW with approximately 80 patients a day requiring platelets.
“About a third of all donated blood is used to help support chemotherapy treatments, many of these for children with leukaemia,” Ms Partridge said.
“Chemotherapy kills off blood cells and depletes blood count, so these patients rely on the generous blood donations from hundreds of Australians for their survival.”
People wishing to donate blood this Easter should call to make an appointment on 13 14 95.