While donating plasma at the Lismore Blood Centre on Bounty Street last week, Lifeblood spokesperson Scott Morrison told me a new statistic that startled me.

Australian Red Cross Lifeblood now needs more plasma donations than blood donations in Australia as demand for the life-saving blood product reaches record levels.

Thousands of people are relying on plasma donations to treat life-threatening conditions every day, including new Lifeblood ambassador Michael Klim.

The swimming champion lives with a rare neurological disorder (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), which causes loss of sensation and weakness of the limbs.

(With Lifeblood's Scott Morrison at the Lismore Donor Centre on Bounty Street)

While there is no cure, symptoms can be managed, and quality of life improved by infusions of Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg) made from human plasma donations.

Lifeblood spokesperson, Scott Morrison said an increase in demand for IVIg, which has been growing at around 8 per cent each year over the past 5 years, has been one of the biggest drivers of plasma demand in Australia.

“Medical research and innovation are finding new uses for plasma treatments all the time, which means we expect even more plasma will be needed in the future. We have some of the most generous voluntary plasma donors in the world and despite Australians donating more plasma than ever before, there are growing numbers of people who need it to be able to have a quality of life many of us take for granted. This means we need more people in Lismore to become regular plasma donors,” he said.

Plasma has now overtaken blood donations as the type of donation most needed by patients and hospitals in Australia. It can take up to 15 plasma donations to make some plasma medicines, which is why so many plasma donors are needed.

In becoming an ambassador for Lifeblood, Olympian Michael Klim said he jumped at the opportunity to help raise awareness of just how critical plasma is to thousands of Australians like himself.

“Unless you have been in a situation like mine, you can’t fully appreciate the demand that exists for plasma and the change it can create for patients. It is an amazing product” he said.

Klim said the ambassador role was also an opportunity to thank Australia’s plasma donors.

“The generosity of Australians is tremendous. Without it people like myself wouldn’t be functioning the way we do and it helps us maintain a pretty normal lifestyle. It gives us hope – so it plays a huge, huge role in our lives,” he said.

Plasma – The Facts

• Plasma contains antibodies, the body’s own little “ninja warriors”, that helps us fight infections and diseases.
• Plasma-derived medicines are used to treat more than 50 serious medical conditions.
• It is used in hospitals across Australia every day to treat trauma and bleeding, but it's also used to make life-saving medicine for patients with auto-immune diseases, cancer, haemophilia, kidney conditions and burns.
• Every pregnant woman who receives an Anti-D injection is also a plasma recipient.
• Donating plasma is a lot like donating blood, and just as rewarding. The process is called ‘apheresis’, whereby a special machine draws blood from your arm and separates the blood out to collect the plasma, which is yellow in colour, while the remainder of the blood is returned to your body.
• Donating plasma means you give twice as much plasma as you would in a normal blood donation. And you can donate more often – as frequently as every two weeks. If you’re a whole blood donor, you can give plasma four weeks after your blood donation. 

 Book a blood or plasma donation online, by calling 13 14 95 or by downloading the Donate Blood app.

When you go into the Lismore Donor Centre at Level 1/26 Bounty Street, ask to join the Lismore App Blood Donor team.

You can also visit Scott Morrison and the team from the Lismore Donor Centra at the Lismore Show in the Claude Riley Pavilion at the northern end above sideshow alley.