It says cancer patients are the main beneficiaries, along with women having complications during childbirth, trauma victims and those needing emergency surgery and transfusions.
But there is also an increasing need for plasma donations for people with autoimmune deficiencies.
The human body carries about five litres of blood, made up of several useful components.
Along with the blood, there are plasma and platelets components, with each type of donation used for different medical treatments.
The Australian Red Cross Blood Service says one in three Australians will probably need donated blood or blood products at some point in their lives.
National spokesman Shuan Inguanzo says that means the blood bank never really closes, even during holiday period.
"Many people take a break, and that obviously impacts the number of available donors. However, with some blood components, the short life is only five days, and, those components being relied on around the clock by cancer patients and road-trauma victims, that means that the need for blood never takes a break. It just goes to show we are always on the lookout for new or existing donors to come back, but long weekends really pose a threat to our blood stocks."
The Red Cross Blood Service says the biggest use of donated blood, by far, is in cancer treatment, with more than one-third of supplies used for those patients.
Road-trauma victims also use a lot of blood at once, along with women needing blood transfusions after giving birth.
Beyond that, people with disorders such as anaemia and thalassemia also need regular blood transfusions.
And starting this year, Shuan Inguanzo says, donors will also be able to give plasma from their first visits.
"Previously, you had to give at least one regular, whole blood donation before you could go straight to plasma donation. But now, because of the growing need for plasma donation, we've made it possible for donors to give plasma for their first donation. It takes a little bit longer, about half an hour in the chair, but some people do report feeling a little bit better after their donation, because what happens is we take the blood and, in the machine, it separates the plasma, which is the liquid component of the blood, and puts that into the bag and returns your red blood cells, along with saline to boost your blood volume. And, obviously, those red blood cells contain iron, and, as a result, you may feel a little bit better after giving plasma."
Mr Inguanzo says the blood bank is well-stocked for its red-cell blood types and is shifting its emphasis this year to the plasma donations.
The need for plasma has been steadily growing in recent years for its use in the treatment of immune-system conditions and muscle and nerve conditions, among other ailments.
"We're in the process of rolling out two pilot plasma-donor centres. One has already opened in Townsville, and another will be opening in Canberra later this year. And these plasma donor-centres will collect only plasma donations. That's because, in the last decade, the demand for plasma-based products has rapidly increased. In Australia, we need to do more to encourage people to give plasma over whole blood. In fact, the need for whole blood has declined, due to improvements in the way clinicians are using blood."
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