1 October 2020
For Wing Warrant Officer No. 86 Wing Scott Biddell, donating blood has been an important part of his life.
He has donated more than 130 times in the past 20 years and has been a proud Lifeblood Champion for four years.
“My youngest brother was involved in a serious car accident a few years ago and during surgery needed 12 bags of blood and 12 bags of plasma to be saved,” Warrant Officer Biddell said.
“The plasma alone was six months worth of donations from a single person.
“You never know what unforeseen events will come up in your life or your loved ones.”
Warrant Officer Biddell said RAAF Base Amberley needed more Lifeblood Champions. Currently, he and Warrant Officer Nicola O’Brien are the only two.
“As the largest RAAF Base in Australia, it would be beneficial to have more Lifeblood Champions dedicated to promoting and coordinating individual and group donations for the Australian Red Cross on a regular basis,” Warrant Officer Biddell said.
“Australia needs a total of 31,000 blood, plasma and platelet donations each week to meet patient demand from hospitals and other health facilities.”
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, Warrant Officer O’Brien wasn’t able to host her usual launch to kick off this year’s Defence Blood Challenge at Amberley but is working with Warrant Officer Biddell to schedule windows for ADF members to visit the Australian Red Cross Donor Centre in Ipswich.
“We are conducting base-wide communications via the Squadron Warrant Officer network, as well as hanging posters and targeting past donors,” Warrant Officer Biddell said.
“It’s not much of an ask to take an hour or two out of your day every now and then to help save the life of a child or sick person.
“A blood or plasma donation takes around 45 minutes and is, in my opinion, one of the most rewarding things you can do to help another person.
“There are thousands of Australians who rely on the generosity of life-saving donations from healthy donors every day, including cancer patients and people with kidney or heart diseases."
