Latest news with #AustralianRedCross
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Health
- Perth Now
Wanneroo recommends against installing LifeVac devices
The City of Wanneroo could buck the trend and not install anti-choking devices at its city-managed facilities, despite several neighbouring councils rolling out the devices in recent months. Following the death of a young child at Burns Beach Foreshore Park in January 2024, the device known as LifeVac has received increased attention from local councils, with calls for broader access to life-saving equipment. The anti-choking device is a self-powered, portable suction tool developed to clear the upper airway when standard first-aid protocols fail to relieve a choking incident. The City of Joondalup has installed LifeVac devices at 38 community facilities. The City of Stirling has approved them at five staffed recreation centres, and the City of Vincent at 10 locations. Meanwhile, the City of Swan and the Town of Bassendean are also considering introducing the devices. Last November, City of Wanneroo councillors requested a report examining the costs and benefits of installing LifeVac airway-clearance devices at its city-managed facilities. This report, set to be formally presented to the council next Tuesday, recommends that councillors do not proceed with installing airway-clearance devices in city-managed facilities at this time, due to several factors. The contents of the LifeVac kit. Credit: LifeVac The devices are registered with the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. The council report notes that both St John and Australian Red Cross caution against LifeVac use in public facilities, which could complicate or delay traditional first-aid responses such as back blows and chest thrusts. City officers concluded that it would be more practical for people to carry their own LifeVac devices in personal first-aid kits rather than having them installed in public facilities. 'The LifeVac website indicates that familiarity with the unit is important for effective use, along with using the correct size mask,' city officers said in the report. 'The cost of a LifeVac device starts at $130; it is therefore considered reasonable for them to be included in a personal first-aid kit as opposed to a public/community first-aid kit.' The city's recommendation is also based on advice from its insurance provider. In 2022-23, choking and suffocation caused 1427 deaths and 1430 hospital admissions in Australia, predominantly affecting males and people aged 0-4 and 65 and older. According to the city, one suspected choking incident has occurred at its facilities since incident monitoring began in February 2022, involving a toddler who swallowed a Lego piece in 2023. The contents of the LifeVac kit. Credit: Supplied If LifeVac devices were installed at 10 City of Wanneroo-managed facilities with secure cabinets, the total cost to the city would be approximately $6500. Without cabinets, the cost would be around $1500 for the 10. If used, the devices are replaced free of charge by the manufacturer, but it's recommended that the masks be replaced every two to three years. Wanneroo councillors will decide whether to adopt the devices at the next ordinary council meeting on Tuesday July 22.
7NEWS
4 days ago
- Business
- 7NEWS
Best-selling cleaning brand Pine O Cleen partners with Australian Red Cross to support communities across the country
There's no better feeling than knowing your favourite supermarket buys are also making a difference — and that's exactly what Pine O Cleen is delivering. One of Australia's favourite cleaning brands, Pine O Cleen, available to shop at Coles, is continuing its impactful partnership with the Australian Red Cross through The Cleen Up Program. For the past three years, the trusted household brand has donated up to $100,000 annually to support individuals and communities affected by crises across the country. Loved for their best-selling products like the Multi Purpose Trigger Spray, Platinum Laundry Sanitiser, and Scentsations Disinfectant Wipes, Pine O Cleen remains a go-to for thousands of Aussies. And now, you can help too. From July 2 to July 29, for every Pine O Cleen product purchased at Coles, $0.20 will be donated directly to the Australian Red Cross. It's a simple way to give back while stocking up on your cleaning essentials. The Cleen Up Program is now in its third year, continuing to support long-term recovery and strengthen communities across Australia. Pine O Cleen has played a huge part in helping Australian Red Cross provide ongoing support to communities during the recovery process which can often take months, years, or even decades. This vital support has reached those affected by natural disasters like Cyclone Alfred which left thousands of people without power and caused widespread damage to their homes in Queensland and Northern NSW. To support clean-up in affected communities, Pine O Cleen is the official hygiene partner of Australian Red Cross, providing cleaning and hygiene products — both for individuals to use in their homes and for Australian Red Cross Emergency Services volunteers working in community spaces and recovery centres. 'Every disaster we respond to has different requirements, and we work closely with our partners to coordinate recovery efforts and services for the specific individual and community need,' says Australian Red Cross Director of Emergency Services, Resilience & Recovery, Nichola Krey. 'The partnership with Pine O Cleen has helped to maintain hygiene throughout community hubs, ensuring people are in safe and clean spaces during their time of need.'
ABC News
18-06-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood loosens rules around LGBTQIA+ donating blood and plasma
Restrictions around sexually active gay and bisexual men donating blood and plasma are being loosened in a new world-leading move by Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. Under current rules, gay and bisexual men, and transgender women who have sex with men, cannot donate blood or plasma if they have had sex in the past three months. But from July 14, in the first set of rule changes, Lifeblood will remove most restrictions on donating plasma related to sexual activity. It has called this world-first the "plasma pathway", and says it will mean "most people, including gay and bisexual men, and anyone who takes PrEP, will be able to donate plasma without a wait period, providing they meet all other eligibility criteria". PrEP stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis and involves HIV-negative people taking antiretroviral medication to protect them and prevent infection. "Extensive research and modelling show that there will be no impact to the safety of the plasma supply with this change," Lifeblood said in a statement. Lifeblood chief medical officer Jo Pink said plasma was now the donation Australians needed the most, and the change would allow more than 600,000 extra people to give blood. "We're excited to be able to welcome more people from across the community into our donor centres from next month," Dr Pink told News Breakfast. "We now anticipate an extra 24,000 donors and 95,000 extra donations of plasma to be made each year." Dash Heath-Paynter, the CEO of Health Equity Matters, said the change "potentially unlocks thousands of donations of life-saving plasma". "Members of the LGBQTIA+ community members can now help those whose lives depend on plasma donations without a donation deferral period," Mr Heath-Paynter said. Alongside the changes to plasma donation rules, Lifeblood is working towards making changes to blood and platelet donation eligibility. Lifeblood said the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had approved a submission to remove gender-based sexual activity rules. It will mean that all donors will be given the same questions about sexual activity, regardless of gender or sexuality, once the changes come into effect. Men will no longer be asked if they have had sex with another man before they donate blood. On top of that, people in a sexual relationship of six months or more with a single partner will be able to donate blood and most people with new or multiple partners will also be able to donate if they have not had anal sex in the past three months. Lifeblood has not given a date for when the changes will come into effect, but Dr Pink is hopeful of it being from early next year. "There are many steps that Lifeblood needs to take before we can implement the new gender-neutral assessments, including working with state and territory governments to change the donor questionnaire," Dr Pink said. These changes to blood- and plasma-donating rules will "make it easier for more people in the LGBTQIA+ community to donate" Dr Pink added.
West Australian
28-04-2025
- General
- West Australian
With the sun peaking over the hills an enormous procession marched through the historic town for Anzac day
With the sun peeking over the Darling Range, a procession of horses, Jeeps and former soldiers marched through the historic town of Brunswick Junction. The Anzac Day ceremony saw an enormous crowd attending the event, with hundreds from across the Harvey region coming to the town to pay their respects to the men and women who served in Australia's forces. The march through town was led by Vietnam veteran Tony Green who guided the gathered masses from the Burnswick showgrounds to the Brunswick Town Hall, where master of ceremonies Judy Talbot conducted the event. This year's service had a record number of wreaths laid at the war memorial, with more than 30 floral tributes laid by various members of the community. The gathered crowd watched as groups from across Harvey and Brunswick presented their tribute to the fallen, before the procession broke and the events continued inside. Within the Brunswick Town Hall Mrs Talbot talked to the gathered masses paying tribute to the 110th anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli. Mrs Talbot said the war was Australia and New Zealand's first entrance into a global conflict, with the Australian Red Cross playing a major role in bringing many home alive. As the president of the Brunswick Red Cross — the State's longest running branch — Mrs Talbot said she was proud to be a part of the continued legacy.
New York Times
04-03-2025
- Health
- New York Times
James Harrison, Whose Antibodies Helped Millions, Dies at 88
James Harrison did not much care for needles. Whenever he donated plasma, he would look away as the tip went into his arm. But Mr. Harrison, an Australian who died last month at 88, was one of the most prolific donors in history, extending his arm 1,173 times. He may have also been one of the most important: Scientists used a rare antibody in his plasma to make a medication that helped protect an estimated 2.4 million babies in Australia from possible disease or death, medical experts say. 'He just kept going, and going, and going,' his grandson Jarrod Mellowship, 32, said in an interview on Monday. 'He didn't feel like he had to do it. He just wanted to do it.' Mr. Harrison — who was affectionately known as 'The Man with the Golden Arm' — died in his sleep at age 88 on Feb. 17, at a nursing home about an hour's drive north of his regular donation center in Sydney, Mr. Mellowship said. Mr. Harrison's plasma contained a rare antibody, anti-D. Scientists used it to make a medication for pregnant mothers whose immune systems could attack their fetuses' red blood cells, according to Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. It helps protect against problems that can occur when babies and mothers have different blood types, most often if the fetus is 'positive' and the mother is 'negative,' according to the Cleveland Clinic. (The positive and negative signs are called the Rhesus factor, or Rh factor.) In such cases, a mother's immune system might react to the fetus as if it were a foreign threat. That can lead babies to develop a dangerous and potentially fatal condition, hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, which can cause anemia and jaundice. The condition is uncommon: Only about 276 out of 100,000 live births have complications related to this type of blood incompatibility, the Cleveland Clinic said. But doctors cannot predict whether such an incompatibility will lead to serious problems. So, in Australia, the practice is to offer the medication to all pregnant women with negative antibodies as a preventative measure, according to Lifeblood. In Australia, that's about 17 percent of the population, or about 45,000 women a year. In the United States, it's about 15 percent, according to the Cleveland Clinic. In Australia, scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne are working to create a synthetic version of the drug using what some have called 'James in a Jar,' an antibody that can be made in a lab. But for now, human donors are essential: The anti-D shots are made with donated plasma, and Mr. Harrison was one of about 200 donors among the 27 million people in Australia, Lifeblood said. 'It wasn't one big heroic act,' Ms. Falkenmire said in an interview as she reflected on Mr. Harrison's 64 years of donations, from 1954 to 2018. 'It was just a lifetime of being there and doing these small acts of good bit by bit.' Mr. Harrison sometimes met some of the women he helped, although most were strangers. But two he knew well indeed. His daughter, Tracey Mellowship, received an anti-D injection made with Mr. Harrison's plasma. So did his granddaughter-in-law, Rebecca Mellowship, who is married to Mr. Mellowship. 'It was special that I received dad's anti-D,' Tracey Mellowship, 58, wrote in an email. But his rare antibodies were only part of the puzzle. Mr. Harrison's commitment was key. He donated about every two weeks from age 18 to age 81, first his blood and then his plasma. Vacations did not stop him: He would stop in clinics across Australia when he and his wife, Barbara Harrison, traveled in their camper van. She was a prolific blood donor, too. Neither did old age: He rode the train for more than an hour each way to get from his home outside Sydney to his regular donation center. And he never missed an appointment, said Ms. Falkenmire, the Lifeblood spokeswoman, who talked to him during donations. Partially, she said, they just enjoyed chatting. But he also welcomed the distraction: 'He was petrified of needles,' she said. 'He hated them.' Mr. Harrison knew the importance of his work firsthand. At 14, he needed a lot of blood transfusions during a major lung surgery. The experience inspired him to donate and encourage others to donate, too. 'He would walk up to people who were donating for the first time and congratulate them, and tell them they were important and special,' Ms. Falkenmire said, 'without revealing anything about his own donations.' James Christopher Harrison was born on Dec. 27, 1936, in Junee, a small town in New South Wales, to Peggy and Reginald Harrison. After he recovered from lung surgery, Mr. Harrison met his wife, the former Barbara Lindbeck, when he was a teenager. She was a teacher who died in 2005, Ms. Falkenmire said. He worked as a clerk in the regional railway authority and received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1999 for his donations. Mr. Harrison is survived by his daughter, Tracey, and her husband, Andrew Mellowship; his grandsons Scott and Jarrod Mellowship; and Jarrod's family: Rebecca, his wife, and their four children. And also, maybe, 2.4 million babies — which Mr. Harrison never quite knew how to comprehend. 'Saving one baby is good,' he said, after his final donation in 2018. 'Saving two million is hard to get your head around, but if they claim that's what it is, I'm glad to have done it.' Mr. Harrison's wish, he liked to say, was that people would keep donating. Maybe even more than he did, Mr. Mellowship said: 'Because then it means the world's going in the right place.'
