Bloody legends needed in Bendigo this Australia Day

With 4,500 vital appointments going unfilled every day across the country, an extra 141 donors are needed to donate blood and plasma at the Bendigo Donor Centre between January 24-29.

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Lifeblood spokesperson Shae Burns said new and existing donors were needed now to step up, take the Bloody Oath and be the lifeblood of Australia.

She said public holidays were always a challenging time for blood donations.

There are more than 25 million people living in Australia, but currently only 500,000 of those donate blood," she said.

With record numbers of people unwell and having to isolate, right now Australia needs anyone who is eligible and well to give blood donation a go."

Ms Burns said COVID-19 hadn't stopped the need for blood.

"There are still road accidents patients who need large volumes of blood, cancer patients who rely on blood to survive chemotherapy, women who experience child birth complications and many others who rely on this precious resource," she said.

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One in three people will need blood in their lifetime, which means you could be giving hope, joy and even life to someone in your own family or the Bendigo community.

Donating blood only takes an hour of your time, which means there's still plenty of time to spend with mates."

Ms Burns said if you're not sure that you can donate, please don't rule yourself out.

If you're aged between 18-75, healthy and well, there's a good chance you may be eligible to donate," she said.

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The deferral time from a COVID-19 infection or suspected infection will be reduced from 28 days to 7 days, effective January 23.

Please note the 7 days commences from the date of full recovery - not from the date of test. If asymptomatic, it's 7 days from the date of test. The deferral period from receipt of a vaccine remains at 3 days.

Call 13 14 95, visit lifeblood.com.au or download the Donateblood app.

The latest information about donating blood in Victoria and COVID-19 safety measures can be found here.

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