Geraldton blood donors surpass expectations one year after Lifeblood’s return in a decade

A year on from Australian Red Cross Lifeblood’s first visit to Geraldton in more than a decade, local donors have exceeded expectations and played a significant role in supporting patients across the country.

Since the pop-up centre opened on October 21, last year Lifeblood has collected 843 whole blood donations in Geraldton — an average of 42 donations per day.

With each donation capable of helping up to three patients, the city’s donors have supported more than 2500 people in the past 12 months.

Red Cross said they had aimed to collect 40 donations per day through its pop-up model, a target they said Geraldton donors comfortably surpassed.

The strong response built on last year’s fully booked return visit, when more than 200 people donated within the five-day collection period.

Geraldton was selected as part of Lifeblood’s wider WA trial, which also included Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Busselton and several Perth locations.

Lifeblood confirms continued strong support in Geraldton and is actively exploring opportunities to expand donor appointments in 2026.

“Our plan is to keep our mobile operations in WA to support the static site collections,”a Red Cross spokesperson said.

“We will continue to review services based on demand and operational viability.”