Pop-up blood donation service hits Bondi this December to defy “bailer boom”
Image: Research from Lifeblood suggests there has been something they are calling ‘bailer boom,’ with people too socially fatigued to show up for blood donation appointments. Photo: Supplied.
By EVA BAXTER
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is calling for 500 new blood donors in Bondi this December, as demand for blood reaches a 10 year high.
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is hosting a “pop-up” blood donation service at Church in the Marketplace in Bondi to boost supplies over the Christmas period for many seriously ill people including trauma victims, cancer patients, new mothers, and those having life-saving surgeries.
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is bringing its pop-up service to Bondi Junction from Monday December 6th – 23rd, from January 4th – 21st and then Lifeblood will be implementing a bi-monthly service.
According to Lifeblood, demand for blood has reached a ten year high, with numbers of donors falling during the pandemic.
Lifeblood spokesperson John Feist told City Hub December is a particularly challenging time of year with regular donors taking a break, and people distracted by the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Feist said research done by Lifeblood suggests there has been something they are calling ‘bailer boom.’
People are feeling socially fatigued, and are responding to that by bailing or cancelling on plans at the last minute, including their blood donation appointments.
“We’re finding that we’re having quite high numbers of cancellations, and people just not showing up to their appointments,” he said.
Donations in demand
Lifeblood needs approximately 5,000 donations every week to supply NSW hospitals with the blood they need. Across the country, 33,000 blood donations are needed weekly to meet the demand for patients and people that need blood or blood products.
One in three Australians will need to access blood or blood products at some point in their lifetime, but at the moment, only one in thirty actually donate blood.
“If we want to meet that patient demand and help all Australians that need blood or blood products, then we need people to come forward and roll up their sleeves and donate,” said Feist.
The Bondi junction location makes it convenient for the people of Bondi, according to Feist, “we would appeal to them to keep the appointment and turn up and make their donation.
“If something does crop up that means they can’t, we’d really appreciate it if they cancel it with notice, rather than just not show up on the day, so hopefully we can replace that cancelled appointment with somebody else coming forward to fill it,” he said.
“This is the first time we have visited Bondi for an extended period of time, and we really need people who have never donated before or who haven’t donated in a while to fill those empty appointments.”
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