Milestone donor Margaret Devries has donated blood more than 300 times and this week got to meet Peter Douglas, one of the people her blood helped save. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
In 2023, more than 15,000 donations were made at Wagga’s Lifeblood facility, saving the lives of nearly 45,000 people across the country.
This generosity, from local people like Margaret Devries, who has donated over 300 times, means hospitals around the country can continue to provide lifesaving care.
“I’ve been donating for over 30 years, and it all started with a workmate who asked me to come; I thought, why not?” Ms Devries said.
“I just kept going, I’ve continued and never even thought about stopping. The staff at Lifeblood are great and knowing that I’m contributing to something like saving lives is something I find really rewarding.”
Ms Devries recounted her memories of donating blood at the Wagga Base Hospital in the 90s and the transition to visiting the Lifeblood clinic in Berry Street.
She said she had always found an hour of her time to sit down and roll up her sleeves but admitted the post-donation milkshakes were a huge drawcard.
“I’ve given 305 times, so effectively that’s 915 lives that I’ve helped save and 305 milkshakes that I’ve drank,” she joked.
“I’ve now got three kids, two of them who donate as well and I’m sure my third will too once he gets to that age.
“It has become a routine to go every fortnight; the staff are amazing, from Tracey who greets you at the front desk to those who do your health interview; they really do make you feel quite comfortable.”
Wagga Lifeblood Donor Centre Manager Neil Wright praised Ms Devries’ and other donors’ efforts but admitted he would like to see more people donate.
“The main barrier that people have is the fear of the needle,” Mr Wright said.
“People have the misconception that it’s like an immunisation, where you inject something into the body and admittedly that does hurt a little bit. But, taking blood is really quite painless once that pinprick is done; you really don’t feel anything for the duration of the donation.
“We really want to make people feel comfortable and we want to create relationships with the donors. It’s so pleasing to see a community of donors regularly commit to donating blood and plasma but we would always love to see more.
“Patients in Australia rely on blood donations for their red cells, platelets, and plasma. With just one blood donation, you can save three lives immediately and for plasma donors, we can make up to 18 or 19 lifesaving products, immune products, the anti-hemophilia factor for hemophiliac children and a myriad of other products that help people in their health journey.”
Mr Wright said Australia was in the middle of National Blood Donor Week and now was as good a time as any to become a donor.
“Here in Wagga, the donor centre is open Monday through Saturday,” he said.
“Monday, Friday and Saturday we are open from 7 am to 3 pm, while Tuesday to Thursday we are open from 11 am to 7 pm.
“You can start a team, you can start a team of workmates or your sporting team and sign up as a group or come as an individual. We love groups coming too; it creates such a great atmosphere within the centre.”
National Blood Donor Week runs from 10 – 16 June.
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