he Australian Red Cross is driving a blood donation campaign amid fears of a shortage of blood donations in the country. Besides many other factors coronavirus is also creating nervousness and new donors are hesitant.
- Australian Red Cross needs around 25,000 individual blood donations each week.
- One in third Australian would need blood once in their life
- There is no current evidence suggesting coronavirus is transmissible by blood transfusion
Omar Tauseef has been a regular blood donor for almost 20 years. Omar considers blood donation as his duty since he also came across a situation when someone else donated blood for him.
Omar told SBS Urdu that a long time back he had a traffic accident in Pakistan and his blood group was not available in the family then a volunteer donated blood for him and that was life-saving.
Omar says, "After recovery, I spoke to my lifesaver donor in curiosity to know why he donated blood for a stranger and the donor replied that someone saved my life in the same way and if you can, donate for someone else". Omar says that since then he became a regular donor. I am a community councilor and I can understand the fear but I donated blood as my routine of giving donation every four to six weeks.
I am a donor for 20 years and donating blood this time because the need is high and lives could be endangered if the right blood group is not available in emergency
Another time that reaffirmed Omar's belief in the importance of blood donation was the time when blood was needed for his daughter a few years back.
Australian Red Cross LifeBlood group account manager Hussain Ahmed says that a single donation saves three lives and any healthy person age 18 and over can become a donor. Hussain says that blood is needed every day by Australian patients including road trauma patients, surgical patients, medical and orthopedic patients, pregnant mums and cancer patients.
I want to reassure donors and the community that there is no evidence coronavirus is transmittable by blood transfusion
Omar Tauseef says the number of blood donors decreases at the time when it is required the most and that is the reason he decided to donate now. "Other than taking some extra care, nothing stopped me from donating blood during this pandemic", he added.
Hussain reiterated that LifeBlood has robust processes in place to ensure the safety of the blood supply. "we don’t allow people who are unwell to donate blood and our donor centers are safe places to visit", he added.
Omar Tauseef agreed that donation centers have taken every measure of hygienic care during the entire process of blood donation that took almost 30-40 minutes.
Blood groups' availability and their requirements may vary in different regions. Hussain says that interestingly different regions have different trends.
Source: Supplied
- Blood group "B positive" is more common In Subcontinent.
- 40 percent of Australians have blood group "O positive" and 32 percent have "A positive"
Extra Precautions for blood donation during COVID-19
- The social distancing of 1.5 meter
- Used touched items are wiped/sanitized and clean after each visit
- Only screened donors are allowed to visit the donation center
- Australians traveled overseas are not allowed to donate before 28 days of their arrival
Hussain highlights that one in three Australians would need blood once in their life but one in 30 Australians donates blood.
There are currently 500,000 Australians who donate blood, but millions more who may be eligible to donate. "We collect 29,000 donations per week", he added.
Hussain Ahmed of Australian Redcross Lifeblood himself celebrated a personal milestone recently by donating blood for the 100th time in Australia in just 6 years.
Source: Supplied
I was on nervous 99 in terms of number of times I donated the blood in the past, and now I have achieved a milestone of donating blood 100 times
Source: Supplied
Public Safety Message
Coronavirus symptoms can range from mild illness to pneumonia, according to the Federal Government's website. Symptoms can include a fever, coughing, sore throat, fatigue and shortness of breath.
If you develop symptoms within 14 days of returning from overseas or have been in contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case, you should seek medical attention.
If you believe you may need to get tested, call your doctor or contact the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
If you are struggling to breathe or experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.
SBS is committed to informing Australia’s diverse communities about the latest COVID-19 developments. News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus
Find more news and information on Coronavirus from https://www.sbs.com.au/language/urdu/coronavirus-updates
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