Blood donor centre moves into mobile vans at showgrounds

SUGARY snacks will soon be dished out in exchange for blood at the Mackay Showgrounds. The donor centre at the Mackay Base Hospital is set to temporarily relocate into two state-of-the-art mobile donor centres for the next 12 to 18 months. The move follows ongoing "operation challenges with the physical building" at the current location. Queensland donor services manager Melanie Thompson said it would be a first for the service and staff to move after moving to the hospital in 1993. "We have had a few disruptions with the building over the years but rather than persist with challenges, we've made the decision to move," she said. "The showgrounds is a great location, and we're going to have two donor mobiles parked for collection and a pavilion set up for refreshments." However, the hunt for a permanent facility continues. Ms Thompson said the Australian Red Cross Blood Service would search for a larger, newer, more visible location to call home. "The search is well and truly under way," she said. "Year after year for the past five or so years, we have seen an 11% growth in plasma donations and we forecast that rate to keep on growing." "It makes perfect sense to move now, to accommodate a greater number of plasma collections, so we can support the community and the amount coming in. "We are looking to cater for future growth." Mackay has had a "rich history" of blood donations and a supportive community of 3699 registered blood donors, Ms Thompson said. "I'm anticipating that we might actually grow the number of donors in our panel, because the access at the showgrounds and parking is far greater than what we've had at the existing location," she said. "This is really exciting for us," Ms Thompson said. She said the team would undertake extensive training for next week's launch, from today. "It will take them through the process of working in a donor mobile," she said. "It's pretty much the same, "We will have the same number of plasma machines, staff, hours and availability, but the size will change slightly," Ms Thompson said. Details Mackay's blood service will be located at the showgrounds from October 5