Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to support this private member’s motion and to support World Blood Donor Day and the donation of blood nationwide. As I said, I support the private member’s motion and what I feel is a great cause. I sometimes take time out to give blood because I believe that it is something that is very worth while. Every time I leave a blood donation centre I feel a rush of happiness and accomplishment because I know that my blood is going to help save someone’s life, and that is a very important thing. And it is a good feeling. Giving blood has been a part of my life for decades. My family has been giving blood regularly to help those in need as well. My wife has been giving blood for well over 25 years.

We all lead busy lives; there is little time to take time out of our busy schedule and do the things that we enjoy. However, if we all took one hour out of our day every six months to donate blood, we would all be saving another person’s life or making their chances of survival greater. There are thousands of individuals across Australia every year who need blood transfusions to save their lives. Every donation given helps to save up to three lives. There are 100 collection sites across Australia, with more that 80 permanent donor centres in city centre locations and many mobile units that service Australia’s rural areas. In fact, there was a mobile unit that serviced Parliament House about 18 months ago and I recall many of the members here in this House donating blood, including myself. Donating blood has never been easier or more convenient.

The Australian Red Cross are always under pressure to find more blood. And they are correct when they say that we all expect there to be blood available when we need it. However, there is only a very small proportion, one in 30, of people who take themselves to the blood clinic and donate blood. Thirty per cent of blood collected goes to patients battling cancer, 15 per cent helps people with heart disease, another 15 per cent goes to people with stomach and bowel disease, 12 per cent assists trauma and accident victims and five per cent helps babies and pregnant women. Australia needs approximately 20,000 donations each week to meet demand. We do not ever think that it is going to be us or our loved ones who will need blood, whether it is due to a prolonged illness, a sudden accident or during routine surgery. It is, however, always someone’s loved one—someone’s mother, someone’s father, someone’s child—who is in need of a blood transfusion. The government encourages Australians to make a difference in the lives of thousands of Australians by donating blood.

I would like to turn now to the great work that the Australian Red Cross Blood Service do at blood banks and in drawing attention to the need for more Australians to donate blood. The Australian Red Cross was founded in 1914 as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world’s largest voluntary organisation. Much of the work of the Red Cross is carried out in Australia and overseas by volunteers. Each year Red Cross volunteers serve more than 200 million vulnerable people worldwide, many in crisis situations. Without the work of those wonderful volunteers in the Australian Red Cross, thousands of Australians would not receive the blood they need. Working long hours in high-stress conditions to save lives, these volunteers and workers are truly inspirational! I would like to say thank you to all of the workers at the Red Cross centres across the nation for the wonderful work that they do in blood donation. Without their work, thousands of Australians would not be here today. Let me just say that all of us in this House—those of us who are able to—should be giving blood on a regular basis and we should be setting an example. It is a very important part of our lives to donate blood. I support this motion.

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