People who lived in the United Kingdom for over 6 months between 1980 and 1996 can now give blood in Australia. However, when I landed in Australia in 2007 this was not the case. As a veteran of more than 40 donations in the UK I was extremely disappointed when I discovered that donations would not be accepted from me.
As someone who has witnessed firsthand how blood donations save lives every single day, I take pride in donating blood knowing that I am contributing to society at large.
As of September, changes have been made to the Australian blood donation rules for people from the UK, meaning I am now allowed to donate my blood! Having made my appointment, I went along to the Lifeblood York Street centre, the check in and questionnaire process was simple and painless. Being a tad afraid of needles, I was expecting the blood extraction to be extremely painful (as I recall from my UK days). However, to my surprise it was pain free due to the skill of the phlebotomist (blood collector) and the use of an anaesthetic wipe!
It took about 10 minutes to complete the process and after a cup of tea and a biscuit I was on my way. Job done.
The work of Lifeblood and the dedicated staff cannot be understated and knowing that we have a shortage of blood products in Australia, I urge everyone to consider donating for the good of us all. I did!
