Kalgoorlie cancer patient calls for mobile blood donation bus to service regional WA

A prominent Kalgoorlie-Boulder resident has continued his drive for a mobile blood donation bus to service regional WA — which he believes would benefit patients and blood research.

Nick Fardell, who has been battling cancer for the past 2½ years, helped spark discussions on the re-establishment of an Australian Red Cross Lifeblood donation centre in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

A petition in 2023 to reinstate a local donor centre gathered 2400 signatories after being promoted by Member for Kalgoorlie Ali Kent, along with Mr Fardell and Doug Daws.

Lifeblood launched their first pop-up centre in September as part of a WA-wide trial.

It marked the first time in 12 years local residents could roll up their sleeves and donate blood.

Mr Fardell said while the pop-up clinic was a step in the right direction, a mobile clinic could service a larger region.

“When I teamed up with Ali and Doug and we were (advocating) to get a service, I always maintained it was a red bus,” he said.

“With the pop-up clinic . . . they bring their offices, their beds, their petitions around the offices. They bring all that.

“I believe it’s a really inefficient way to spend money, whereas a red bus could be used in a lot more locations.”

Mr Fardell said a mobile centre could also help to boost blood research for Indigenous people.

“One of the things we need in Western Australia in our health service . . . is research into Indigenous people and Indigenous bloods and we’re not collecting that,” he said.

“This is the perfect opportunity to be able to collect that blood in that facility, a mobile facility, that can go out . . . and pick out early cases and run tests.”

Mr Fardell was diagnosed with a type of myelodysplastic syndrome in late 2022, which has now developed into acute myeloid leukaemia.

MDS causes the body to not make enough red blood cells.

To keep his red blood cell count high enough, Mr Fardell received regular blood transfusions.

In 2023, Mr Fardell was twice turned away from the Pathwest facility at Kalgoorlie Health Campus after being told they did not have the blood product he needed.

The difficulty Mr Fardell had faced in receiving blood transfusions brought his attention to the lack of a donation options across regional WA.

“I had a blood test one day, and there was meant to be a packet of blood for me the next day, and it didn’t turn up,” he said.

“It’s a pretty long day when you don’t get your blood donation, and you know that you’ve now got to wait another day.”

After ongoing discussions with Lifeblood about an increased presence in regional WA, Mr Fardell said he was not satisfied with the organisation’s responses.

The Kalgoorlie Miner contacted Australian Red Cross Lifeblood for comment but the organisation was not in a position to speak about an alternative donation model.

“Every year across Australia Lifeblood collects more than 1.6 million donations in more than 400 locations,” a spokesperson said.

“While we’re always looking for opportunities to increase donation options within local communities, right now for Kalgoorlie, our focus is on making sure the pop-up is successful.

“In the meantime, we’ll continue to engage with communities across Australia, as we have for the past few years, on other potential opportunities.”

There had been 510 donations from 338 people in Kalgoorlie-Boulder during the past eight months.

The Lifeblood spokesperson thanked the Kalgoorlie-Boulder community for their support of the pop-up donor centre.

“It’s been very exciting to be able to collect blood in Kalgoorlie for the first time in 12 years, following the pop-up’s launch in September 2024,” the spokesperson said.

“Despite facing a few logistical challenges during our three visits so far, we’re working to make the pop-up a success.”

Lifeblood will return to Kalgoorlie-Boulder from July 28 to August 1, with 60 appointments available.

Anyone interested in donating blood can book online at lifeblood.com.au.