Springwood’s Red Cross Centre has seen a 60% increase in blood donations since the Bondi massacre.
The centre typically receives an average of 106 blood donations over a two-day period, but this week saw that number rise to 169.
Local relationship manager at Lifeblood, Liam Richardson, said 33 of the 169 people the centre saw were first-time blood donors.
More than five times the number of first-time blood donors, the centre typically sees.
Mr Richardson said the mood among blood donors and staff was sombre and that many were upset in the wake of the anti-Jewish terrorist attack, which claimed the lives of 15 people on Sunday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
“It’s been very much a mix of emotions,” he said. “Obviously, people are very upset by what took place, but in terms of community, we have seen people come out and support Australians in need.
“When a tragedy like this happens, we see the Australian community really come together.”
Donations collected at the Springwood centre will mostly be used locally to replenish the blood stock sent to Sydney immediately after the attack.
“On Sunday night, when the events were unfolding, we sent a lot of blood from other states to New South Wales to support the patients who were undergoing surgery for trauma,” Mr Richardson said.
“What that meant was that there were limited supplies, in Queensland and in other states as well, and so now, we’ve been able to replenish our supplies in Queensland.”
Since Monday, 11,456 Queenslanders have booked appointments to give blood, and 3,108 Queenslanders have successfully donated.
O-negative blood, the universal blood donor, is the most in-demand blood type immediately following a mass trauma event like Bondi.
“We got down to around about one day’s supply of O-negative blood immediately following the event, which is something that we don’t like,” Mr Richardson said.
“We like to have at least three to four days of O-negative blood in storage, but the response from the Australian community has been so incredible that we’ve seen those numbers come back up again now.”
Mr Richardson urged all Australians to continue to book appointments via Lifeblood’s app and website to donate blood, of all blood types, and plasma, particularly in the lead up to Christmas.
“We’re going into that difficult Christmas period where a lot of people go away, and so we do need people to continue to donate, so that we have enough blood
for people going forward,” he said.
