Twin Towns Bar Supervisor, Bec O’Brien, says she’d often thought about donating blood but just never seemed to get around to it. After finally making an appointment at the Red Cross Blood Bank, she was sad to learn that only 3 percent of the population donate blood each year.

“Donated blood only lasts up to 42 days, which is part of the reason why it’s so important to keep donations coming in, particularly throughout winter when stocks become low due to the cold and flu season.”

So Bec thought she would try and get the Twin Towns staff involved.

The Australian Red Cross have a program called RED25, which allows organisations to donate as a group, keep tally of their donations each month, and keep track of the number of lives saved through those donations.

Bec is now the coordinator of Twin Towns’ RED25 group of eight staff members, known as the ‘Twinnies Crew’. It’s Bec’s mission to encourage more staff, family and friends to get involved with the Red Cross Blood Service and she is looking forward to seeing the ‘Twinnies Crew’ RED25 group grow in numbers and donations.

“We made our first group donation at the end of May and will continue to donate every three months to help support this great cause.

“Every donation is special and can help save three lives. The Twinnies Crew is extremely proud to have already helped save 24 lives, just from our first donations,” said Bec.

If you or your workplace would like to donate or register in the RED25 program, call the Australian Red Cross on 13 14 95 or jump online and head to www.donateblood.com.au

Bec said that raising awareness about donating blood is vital for the continued success of this very important community service.

“It only takes one hour to help save three lives. It feels amazing to be able to give such a precious gift to someone in need,” said Bec.