THE Lifeblood Mobile Donor Centre will be in Hamilton from Monday, August 22 to Friday, September 2 and there are still times available for anybody to book to make a life-saving donation.

This will also be the first time a cohort of potential donors from the UK will be able to join in here in town, following a recent change in policy.

Since December 2000, those who had spent a total of six months or more in the UK between 1980 and 1996 were prevented from donating blood.

This was a precautionary measure in response to the UK outbreak of mad cow disease and concerns about the risk of acquiring the human variant – Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) – a fatal disease with an incubation period of many years and no screening test to identify carriers.

The recommendation by Lifeblood to remove the rule was approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on July 25 this year following an in-depth risk assessment, and the lifting of the ban saw over 20,000 people become new donors in the first week across Australia.

At time of writing, over 300 local residents are booked in to give blood during the next visit to Hamilton, which will help save up to 900 lives – and one of the donators will reach a major milestone, donating for the hundredth time.

20 new donors are booked in to make their first donation and there are still 36 appointments available in the second week of the visit.

To book an appointment, call 13 14 95, visit lifeblood.com.au or download the free DonateBlood app; you will be asked a series of health-related questions to determine eligibility.