The blood service needs an extra 5900 people to give blood in the next fortnight after an early start to the flu season has meant up to 1400 donors have cancelled appointments each day.
The Shepparton donor centre needs an extra 65 blood donors in the next two weeks to help meet patient needs, with the centre averaging 21 blood donors a day.
With one in three Australians needing donated blood some time in their life, blood service spokesperson Erin Lagoudakis said the service urgently needed O and A blood types, both positive and negative.
‘‘Nearly 90 per cent of the Australian population has an O or A blood type, meaning these blood types are most in demand,’’ Ms Lagoudakis said.
‘‘We haven’t seen cancellations this high since March 2017 and as the number of people suffering cold and flu symptoms increases it limits the number of regular donors who are able to give.’’
Ms Lagoudakis said the blood service used previous data and formulas to calculate how many donors were needed at any given time to meet the forecast demand.
Each donor centre across the state was allocated a total number of donors to cover the amount needed, with all Victorian donations sent to Melbourne to be processed and tested before being sent across the country.
Ms Lagoudakis said historically cold and flu season placed a strain on the blood service as symptoms prevented donors from making donations.
‘‘We need people who are fully recovered from colds or the flu, and those who have avoided it, to take the place of those who are unable to answer our call,’’ she said.
‘‘People are still able to donate if they have had a flu vaccination and donors affected by cold and flu symptoms are able to give blood seven days after making a full recovery.’’
●To make an appointment or for more information about giving blood, phone 131 495.
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