Geraldton to donate blood as Lifeblood pop-up clinic fully booked for first drive since 2012

Geraldton locals will roll up their sleeves to give blood, with the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood’s pop-up donor centre this week fully booked.

More than 200 people are expected to give blood as the Red Cross collects blood in Geraldton for the first time since 2012.

The pop-up was fully booked within a week of opening.

The Australian Red Cross has begun a WA tour, visiting Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Busselton, some Perth areas, and Geraldton as part of a trial.

A spokesperson for Australian Red Cross Lifeblood said the organisation was excited to return to Geraldton.

“We’re very excited to be visiting the Geraldton Yacht Club this week, giving Geraldton blood donors an opportunity to give blood locally for the first time in 12 years,” she said.

“We’d like to thank the Geraldton community for their overwhelming support. Appointments for the week are fully booked, and we’re looking forward to seeing more than 200 people roll up their sleeves.

“Every donation made in Geraldton this week will be sent to Perth for processing and then on to hospitals across the country for patients in need. Donors will even receive a text message when their donation is on its way.”

According to the organisation, the locations were selected according to a number of factors, including how close they were to processing centres, population size, estimated donation rates, accessibility, and availability of qualified staff.

The donation centre opened on Monday, and will run until Friday October 25.

The spokesperson confirmed the pop-ups across the State over the next 12 months would determine if the project was viable going forward, and Lifeblood hoped to collect 40 extra blood donations a day to meet the nation’s demand.

Australian Red Cross Lifeblood will return in February next year with its donor centre.

Bookings are available for on the Lifeblood website, with the centre opening from Monday February 24-Friday February 28.