The Red Cross Popup Blood Donor centre is returning to Victor Harbor from Tuesday July 26 to July 29.

The cold and flu season, along with COVID, has put pressure on the Australian Cross Lifeblood service, with many donors unable to attend scheduled appointments.

You can donate immediately after receiving a flu vaccine or three days after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

Those who are eligible to donate can register now for a timeslot or call 13 14 95.

The Red Cross says one in three Australians will require a blood donation for things such as cancer treatments, surgery, accidents and complicated births.

The centre will be open during the following hours:

Tuesday 26 July – 10.30am to 7.30pm

Wednesday 27 July – 10am to 6.30pm

Thursday 28 July – 10am to 6.30pm

Friday 29 July – 7.30am to 3pm

Despite a recent decision by the Theraputic Goods Administration to enable people who lived in the United Kingdom between 1980 and 1996 to donate blood the Red Cross has not yet implemented the change.

Since December 2000 people who had spent 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 human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).