Blood donor veteran Les Mullan hits donation milestone

Mr Mullan has Launceston's highest donation count for an active donor and has been donating since the late 1960s.

"There was a call that went out over the radio stations that the Red Cross was asking for donors and a group of us at work put our hands up," he said.

In the last decades he has donated blood, plasma and platelets.

Currently, Mr Mullan switches between plasma and platelet donations.

His reasons for donating are simple.

"Sick people need blood and there's a lot of people that can't give blood for whatever reasons," Mr Mullan said.

Through his donations, Mr Mullan hoped to encourage others to do the same.

"A lot of people say 'Oh, I don't like needles' and I always say to them: the amount of discomfort you'll feel is insignificant to the good that your blood donation does," he said.

"I take donation timetables from here and put them up at work, or anywhere that I frequent just to try and encourage people to donate."

Why donate?

Donating blood, plasma or platelets could save someone's life.

Red blood cells can be used for cancer and blood diseases, surgeries, incidents and traumas, fractures and joint replacements and more.

Plasma can be used in 18 different treatments, such as severe burns, heart surgery, bone marrow transplants and immune deficiencies.

Platelets are used to prevent and stop bleeding. Spontaneous bleeding due to low platelet counts can be common in those with leukaemia or going through treatments such as chemotherapy.

"Anything I can do to help, to get one more person donating is good," Mr Mullan said.

Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is always seeking donors. For more information or if you would like to donate, visit https://www.lifeblood.com.au/.