Australian Red Cross Lifeblood joins forces with legendary international heavy metal rockers.
Demand for plasma in Australia has hit a record high, prompting a call from Australian Red Cross Lifeblood for more donors.
The organisation said it needed thousands of new plasma donors to help meet the soaring demand. It said plasma was now the most needed blood donation in Australia, with a record 17,500 bags required every week.
Children’s hospitals alone need 45,000 plasma medications and transfusions every year.
Lifeblood’s executive director of Strategy and Growth, Stuart Chesneau, said demand was driven by medical advances, with plasma used to treat more than 50 acute and chronic conditions.
“Australia is one of the top three users of plasma medications per capita in the world. Yet fewer than 1% of Australians donate plasma, even though we estimate more than 10 million are eligible,” he said.
“We need 900 extra plasma donors every day this month to help meet demand and support patients like Joey.”
Diagnosed at just four months old with severe Factor V deficiency, Joey, now aged two, receives plasma through a surgically implanted port in his chest.
This treatment allows him to live a mostly normal life.
“Joey is truly one in a million,” Dr Sally Campbell, paediatric haematologist at Queensland Children’s Hospital, said.
“Without plasma, he faces the risk of serious internal bleeding, including into his brain. Access to donor plasma has been life-changing for him and his family.
“We are incredibly privileged in Australia to have such generous plasma donors. Plasma is a powerful product – and for patients like Joey, it’s absolutely essential.”
Across Australia, thousands of children rely on plasma. It contains antibodies that protect those with weakened immune systems. It also has proteins that can stop blood loss, support cancer patients through treatment, and prevent serious complications in pregnancy.
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Lifeblood supplies more than 6,000 plasma medicines and transfusions to hospitals every day. Plasma can be donated every two weeks, making it one of the most impactful ways to support the health of others.
“If you’ve ever considered donating, now is the time to find your reason to save a life,” Mr Chesneau said.
Meanwhile, legendary rock band Metallica has joined forces with the blood service to spread the donor message during its upcoming Australian tour.
The collaboration, in conjunction with Metallica’s foundation All Within My Hands, will see Aussie donors who donate in selected CBD donor centres in the week before each tour stop receive a limited-edition Metallica t-shirt designed by the band’s iconic artist SQUINDO.
The one-of-a-kind design for Aussie donors features the band’s famous “a sea of hearts beat as one” lyric encapsulated within a blood drop, as well as a visual nod to Aussie Metallica fans.
The t-shirts will be available to donors who sign up, or have previously signed up, to Lifeblood’s loyalty program Lifeblood Gifts, and who donate at: Perth Donor Centre from 25-31 October; Adelaide Donor Centre from 29 October to 4 November ; Melbourne CBD Donor Centre from 1-7 November; Brisbane Donor Centre from 5-11 November; and at the Town Hall and York Street Donor Centres in Sydney from 8-14 November.
The collaboration with Lifeblood builds on Metallica’s global legacy of giving, including its partnership with the American Red Cross.
During the recent M72 World Tour in the US, Metallica and the All Within My Hands Foundation helped the Red Cross collect more than 2000 blood and platelet donations to save lives through a series of Red Cross x Metallica blood drives.
