Blood bank renews donation appeal

The Red Cross Blood Service has renewed its appeal for blood donations over the holiday break.

Mobile blood banks are open until 2:00 AEDT today and will open again on January 3 in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. Richard Webb from the Red Cross says extra blood supplies are urgently needed. “One of the main products we get from a donation is platelets,” he said.”It’s only a very small part of a donation but a vital part for accident victims and also cancer patients.”One of the difficulties with the platelets is that they only last for five days and these public holidays really do put that pressure on the blood supply.”(Source: ABC Health, December 2004)