Creswick resident Lorraine Kent has achieved something few could boast: she's helped save the lives of up to 552 people.
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For close to 50 years, Ms Kent has given the gift of life by regularly donating blood, with this week marking her 184th blood donation.
"It feels good to know that you can do something that is so easy but makes such a difference to somebody else," Ms Kent said.
"You might just feel the prick of the needle but apart from that you don't feel a thing."
Ms Kent, who was inspired by her mother to become a blood donor at the age of 20, lost her five-year-old great-niece to brain cancer three years ago and has two nephews who have undergone heart transplants.
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"There are many different things people need blood for," Ms Kent said. "You never know who will need a blood donation."
"Your donation will most likely help a stranger in need, but a donation from somebody else could help you, a close family member or a friend one day."
Blood is needed somewhere in Australia every 18 seconds to help meet the needs of trauma patients, pregnant women, new born babies and cancer patients, among others.
To ensure the needs of thousands of patients over the festive season are met, the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood said it urgently required an additional 334 donors in Ballarat to roll up their sleeves between 27 December 2021 and 8 January 2022.
Lifeblood spokesperson Stephanie Reynolds said the deficit in local blood supplies owed to the usual disruptions of Christmas and New Year, with this time of year typically coinciding with a rise in appointment cancellations among regular blood donors.
"Many of our regulars go away for holidays and they just don't keep their appointments because there's so much going on," Ms Reynolds said. "That's partly why we've got that really urgent need to fill around 300 appointments in the coming weeks."
Ms Reynolds said it also wasn't unusual for hospitals to come under increased strain during the festive season, due to the higher likelihood of road accidents.
"There's always a potential for more road accidents around Christmas with more people on the roads and often feeling stressed and tired," she said. "Our message this Christmas is: 'don't just give something, give everything'.
"Blood donation is one of the greatest gifts you could give - it's free, heartfelt, and it's not just for Christmas - we'd love to see these Secret Santas back throughout the years, because the need for blood never stops."
Lifeblood requires around 33,000 blood donations every week.
The Ballarat Blood Donor Centre is located at 601-603 La Trobe Street and is open Monday to Saturday every week except for Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
To donate blood, visit lifeblood.com.au or phone 13 14 95.
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