The Australian Red Cross Lifeblood donor centre in Newcastle will be open on New Year's Day in an attempt to make up for an expected shortfall in the amount of blood products needed over the public holiday period, as the region appears on track to be about 200 donations short of predicted demand across the Hunter.
Newcastle-based spokesperson Jemma Falkenmire told the Newcastle Herald on Thursday the organisation needed an extra 150 donors at the Newcastle centre and about 50 at the Maitland blood bank in order to meet the expected demand between now and January 2.
