Sunshine Coast blood donors save lives
Fri 23 July 2010
Emily Haynes, Bachelor of Journalism
For many Sunshine Coast businesses and groups, helping to save lives is not just about donating money, but donating blood.
In 2010, over 30 Sunshine Coast businesses, organizations and groups are contributing in saving the lives of many Australians by donating blood as a part of an initiative known as Club Red.
Club Red, a relatively new initiative to the Sunshine Coast, is run by the Red Cross Blood Service and directly targets different groups of people by encouraging a friendly competition to donate the most blood.
Maroochy Red Cross liaison officer Rebecca Ind said initiatives such as Club Red ensure that blood donations are continual throughout the year, particularly in winter where blood bank reserves are typically at their lowest.
“Club Red is about inspiring and encouraging groups of people to come in together and donate,” Ms Ind said.
“It can be anyone, sporting clubs, families, organisations, businesses, groups of friends.
“It’s all about increasing awareness within the community.”
Ms Ind said a lot of businesses are supportive of the Red Cross, ensuring that their groups are donating blood on a regular basis.
“A lot of them celebrate donating together, it’s a lot of fun.”
One group who have had a significant impact on the Red Cross is the Mantra business, an organisation who have been involved for over 12 months nation-wide.
Sunshine Coast Mantra human resources manager Hilda Beukers started a local Red Club group last November.
“We compete against Mantra groups in other regions to get the highest blood donation per capita,” Ms Beukers said.
“At the moment we have the highest per capita in terms of a region, despite having the smallest amount of staff.”
For Ms Beukers, the cause is somewhat more personal, which has led her to encourage others to donate.
“For me, the intensity has increased because of my personal background.
“My father has cancer and needs blood transfusions in order to live.
“It’s made me even more passionate because I know that I can help.”
To ensure blood donations are regular throughout the year, Ms Beukers and her group at the Mantra set goals for every quarter.
“The last quarter we had 27 staff donate,” Ms Beukers said.
“The next quarter we’re aiming at increasing that to 30 staff, and maintaining that amount of people for every quarter after that.”
Particularly in winter, the Red Cross Blood Service experiences a major drop in blood donations.
Maroochy Red Cross nurse Rick Mayne said donations generally drop due to regular donors getting the cold and flu.
“We also have a lot of people, especially the elderly, going to hospital so there is a higher demand for blood stocks,” Mr Mayne said.
At the moment, just 3.5 per cent of the potential blood donor population actually donate blood.
To support the Red Cross Blood Service, groups can join initiatives such as Club Red by going to the Red Cross website at http://www.donateblood.com.au/.
“It’s such a tiny portion of time that saves someone’s life,” Ms Ind said.
“One donor can help save up to three people … It’s a very rewarding experience.”
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