Overview

• High rates of donor appointment cancellations and rescheduling since June 2024 have driven O-type supplies to their current low.
• O-negative blood, present in less than 7% of Australians, is stocked in ambulances and accounts for 16% of hospital usage.
• Roughly 40% of the population carries O-positive blood, which is as safe as O-negative for most emergency transfusions.
• Only 3% of the 57% of Australians eligible to donate give blood regularly, deepening the shortfall.
• Blood donation appointments take about an hour, with the actual donation lasting up to ten minutes.