House debates

Monday, 18 June 2007

Adjournment

World Blood Donor Day

9:05 pm

Photo of Stuart HenryStuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

On Thursday, 14 June, in order to celebrate World Blood Donor Day in Australia, politicians of all persuasions were encouraged to show their true colours by giving blood to help the Australian community in the annual Prick-a-Pollie challenge. I was very pleased to see the member for Watson, who has just come into the chamber, share that opportunity with me. I was a little disappointed that we did not have many more members from both this House and the other place donating blood on this very important occasion.

This day is an annual event designed to recognise and thank the millions of people around the world who donate their blood on a voluntary, unselfish and unpaid basis to help save the lives and improve the health of others. This year, the theme for the day was ‘Safe Blood for Safe Motherhood’, designed to highlight the lifesaving role of safe blood transfusion in maternal and perinatal care. It will also introduce a new World Health Organisation initiative to improve the timely availability of safe blood in health facilities providing emergency obstetric care, particularly in countries with high maternal mortality, and on measures to reduce unnecessary transfusions.

In 2000 the United Nations estimated that, worldwide, there were more than 500,000 maternal deaths. However, most of these deaths have been medically preventable for decades as treatments to prevent such deaths have been well known since the 1950s. This, coinciding with approximately 17 per cent of pregnant women in Australia requiring blood products to ensure they have a healthy pregnancy, is just one example of why having improved access to safe blood transfusion is essential to help prevent death and to improve the health of millions of women and their newborns.

The day is designed to encourage more people to become voluntary blood donors and to underline the importance of regular donation to prevent blood shortages. One simple blood donation can save the lives of up to three people. Millions of people owe their lives to people they will never meet, people who donate their blood freely and willingly.

Australians are proud to have one of the safest blood supplies in the world. This would not be possible without Australia’s voluntary, non-remunerated blood donors. Startlingly though, only a very small proportion—around three per cent—of people give blood; however, at some stage in our lifetime, one in three of us, 30 per cent or more, will need blood.

The government’s Flood report released in December last year estimated that demand for blood would more than double in the next decade alone. The Flood report makes it very clear that if more Australians do not become blood donors we run the risk of not meeting the needs of our own community.

However, I would like to personally thank the 7.4 per cent of people living in my electorate of Hasluck who are currently blood donors. This is over double the average number of blood donors nationally. If we could nationally achieve this same percentage shown by the considerate, thoughtful and generous constituents of Hasluck we would be well on our way to achieving the needs of our community set out in the Flood report.

For those people who have not donated before, including my many parliamentary colleagues both in this place and the other, I encourage you all to give blood because the need for blood never stops. With many thousands of people needing some form of blood or blood product during 2005-06, you can be sure that someone needs yours.

The people who give blood are united by their generosity and the desire to give something back to the Australian community and for that I applaud them. I believe there are some 500,000 selfless volunteers, who every year in Australia give freely of their blood to ensure the wellbeing of others.

I would also like to take this opportunity to recognise the hardworking nurses and volunteers that support the Australian Red Cross Blood Service and the many blood donor centres across Australia. In Western Australia there are some 11 donor centres in all, and the one that I have attended, the Cannington donor centre, is located at the Carousel shopping centre. I would like to say a special thank you to the nurses and volunteers who man that centre as they make each visit such a pleasure. Since the financial year 2005-06, the Australian government has been a significant financial supporter of this wonderful service, providing some 63 per cent of its annual operating costs, with the states and territories providing the balance.