With blood donations at their lowest in winter, Sharks Have Heart organised a group of Sharks staff, supporters and corporate partners to donate blood at the Shire Donor Centre in Miranda earlier this week.
Flu season sees donor centres across Australia with empty chairs and in urgent need of blood donations.
Like many Australians, Rod Brassington from Stewart Toyota Sutherland’s first experience with donating blood came from a family member’s experience with cancer.
“I’ve donated for about 6 or 7 years, after a family member had leukaemia,” Brassington said.
One third of all blood donations go to helping those with blood disease and cancer. With last week National Blood Donor Week (June 9th- 15th) Leukaemia Foundation CEO Bill Petch has called on more Australians to donate.
“The need for blood products to support blood cancer patients doesn’t stop, so neither should blood donations,” Mr Petch said.
Everyday 35 Australians are diagnosed with a blood cancer, which needs a high amount of blood product. Each patient needs 18 Australians; “to roll up their sleeves every month – not just once, but for every month of that patient’s treatment time,” Petch explained.
Brassington brought down staff from Stewart Toyota on Monday in order encourage more local residents to donate. He added that partnering with Sharks Have Heart on initiatives such as these enables Stewart Toyota to connect with and support the Sutherland Shire community.
Accompanied by Sharks mascot Reefy, team trainer Mark Noakes was also happy to do his part and donate in order to help save lives.
“We would also like to encourage more people in the local community to donate, as this is something that affects everyone,” Noakes said.
Donating only takes an hour, with all donors receiving a free health check.
So are you ready to roll up your sleeves?
Local Sutherland Shire residents can donate at the Shire Donor Centre, located at 29 Kiora Road, Miranda.
To make an appointment or find out more about donating, call 13 14 95 or visit the website at: https://www.donateblood.com.au/blood-donor-centre/shire-donor-centre-sutherland-shire
Sharks fans around Australia can find their local donor centre on the Australian Red Cross Blood Service website: https://www.donateblood.com.au/donate#make-appointment
Lead photo – Rod Brassington, Sales General Manager from Stewart Toyota with Reefy and Sharks NRL staff member Mark Noakes\
