77-year-old Sandy Walker has been giving blood his entire life.
Sandy has type O- blood, an uncommon blood type that occurs in approximately 9 per cent of the population according to the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. Sandy is hoping more people will consider booking a time to give blood as it’s something needed to save lives every day.
Sometimes colloquially referred to as a ‘secret blood type’, O- blood can be given to anyone regardless of their own blood type, however the other side that coin is that people with O- blood can only receive blood of that same type.
In Australia the most common blood type is O positive and the least common is AB negative. AB plasma, positive or negative, can be also given to anyone.
This week marks national blood donor week, a time when the government and medical experts renew their calls for people to give blood to save lives. There are around 500,000 blood donors in Australia, who have made 1.5 million donations in the last year.
“It’s something we do for other people – you think of other people. You never know when your family or neighbors or anyone need blood,” Sandy said.
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