Dubbo's Sarah Upton shares her experience donating plasma

She went with a group of colleagues to donate blood at the Dubbo Hospital. Ms Upton has now made 170 donations.

She is one of the many people in Dubbo who donate plasma on a regular basis.

International Plasma Awareness Week started on October 4. During this month alone, 250 plasma donations are needed at the Dubbo Blood Donor Centre.

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"I've had to have a couple of operations and while I haven't had to have any blood products, there's always a chance that myself or someone I know will need it. And I just think it's something simple you can do to give back to people in need," Ms Upton said.

"There's not a lot of people who are able and willing to donate. Plus, it's quick and easy and relatively pain free. I think the worst pain is the finger prick for the haemoglobin test, especially the day after when you're typing on your keyboard."

While blood can be donated every three months, plasma donations can be made every two weeks.

"There are times when things happen and you can't donate, like you might have a bit of a sniffle or something, but when I can it's just routine. I just make my appointments and look forward to going and chatting to the staff and enjoying the refreshments afterwards," Ms Upton said.

"I recently posted on Facebook that it's the only dine in experience that you can have at the moment.

"While everyone has been pushing to get to restaurants to have that dine in experience, I've been enjoying my milkshake and sausage roll at the blood bank at the end of my donation."

For anyone who had been thinking of donating but hadn't done it before, Ms Upton's advice is simple.

"Give it a go. It isn't for everybody, not everybody can donate blood or plasma, but if you can, give it a go. It's a great opportunity to do something that doesn't take up a lot of time or effort," she said.

More than 12,000 patients need plasma medicines and transfusions every month across Australia.

"We owe an enormous thank you to Dubbo locals who donated plasma during the pandemic and ensured that Australian patients continued to receive the plasma and plasma medications they needed," said Lifeblood spokesperson Brian Bruce.

"But despite locals from Dubbo donating more plasma than ever before, these patients need more people on their support team to get them through treatment," he said.

To make an appointment or learn more about donating plasma, call 13 14 95 or visit lifeblood.com.au.

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