Forty years later, Peter, now 61, is still giving blood and he regards it as one of the most important yet simple ways for an individual or group to contribute to the well-being of society.

Peter has just made his 313^th donation, but his blood and plasma are needed more than ever before, with falling donations leaving our hospitals short of supplies.

Australian Red Cross Lifeblood has seen a spike in blood donors missing appointments, and are asking to locals to help fill the gaps. Last-minute blood donation cancellations meant 44,000 donor couches were left empty last month, almost equivalent to the capacity of the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Red Cross says.

In Ballarat, the Blood Donor Centre suffered 15 per cent of donors cancelling their donations last month, with 8 per cent simply not turning up on the day - a decline which has a direct effect on the delivery of surgeries and treatments for a variety of conditions including cancer, obstetrics, general surgeries and blood disorders.

Peter Dwyer says the culture at the Creswick Road raill workshops in the 1980s, where workers banded together to give blood, was supported by VicRail giving them time off to donate.

"Our mate had to have that operation and a blood transfusion. When he came back to work, he just said how it was fantastic that (the hospital) had all the blood supplies," Mr Dwyer says.

"There was quite a few guys in the railways used to do it, and I've just kept at it. I'll give whole blood or plasma, depending on what the blood bank wants. Plasma helps in the process what doctors do, because it gets used for many different reasons: for burns victims, and everything else that goes on.

Lifeblood spokesperson Cath Stone said during the height of the pandemic Australians responded strongly to Lifeblood's appeals for blood donors, but now only one in every two appointments is being kept, with a third cancelled or rescheduled on the day.

"The need for blood never stops," Ms Stone says.

"In fact, annual demand for blood is at its highest level in over a decade, with hospitals using four per cent more blood than compared to the last two years. There is no substitute for blood. We need every type, every day, to meet the needs of Australian patients depending on it."

Donors can check their eligibility to donate at the Ballarat Blood Donor Centre, 601 - 603 Latrobe Street. A donation takes roughly two hours.

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