By Kerri-Anne Mesner
UNEXPECTED attention from Australian Red Cross Mobile Blood Unit workers on Friday morning left Keilor resident Donald Wilsher feeling embarrassed.
When the 58-year-old arrived at the mobile blood donor unit at Taylors Lakes Hotel, one of the Red Cross representatives called attention to the people in the room and announced that Mr Wilsher was there for his 100th donation.
“I felt like crawling into a corner,” Mr Wilsher said.
He said he made his first donation in South Melbourne in 1972 for the same reason he still donates blood today.
“It’s a very good cause,” Mr Wilsher said.
“You get a sense of helping the community in a way.”
He said he was in the navy when he first gave blood, and from there he has donated blood in Hong Kong, Darwin and Sydney.
For the man who has donated blood for the past 35 years, he said he was surprised at the statistics that show only a small percentage of people who are eligible to donate blood take the time and effort to roll up their sleeves to help save lives.
The national operations manager for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Dr Philippa Hetzel, said that in 2006 just over half a million Australians were blood donors. But it was estimated that up to 14.5 million Australians might be eligible to give blood.
Mr Wilsher said his wife was unable to donate blood for a medical reason and two of his three children were regular blood donors.
He said he should have made his 100th donation many years ago, but because of a health issue, he was ineligible to donate blood for a couple of years.
These days, Mr Wilsher said he also used the donation experience to keep an eye on his vitals — taking note of his blood pressure, pulse and iron levels for which Australian Red Cross workers test all donors before the donation process.
