The Australian Red Cross Blood Service’s (ARCBS) mobile donor van now visits the city every month, this is up from a visit every three months.

ARCBS community relations officer John Feist said so many donations had been received from the Bathurst community in the past that it warranted increasing the frequency of the van’s visits.

Bathurst now has the only mobile blood donor centre in the Central West to offer regular Saturday collections.

“We wanted to give people who work Monday to Friday a chance to donate,” he said.

The Saturday addition of the mobile donor van will also assist the ARCBS in collecting platelet donations which have a shelf life of just five days.

“We need to collect a good amount of platelets on a Saturday to ensure we’ve got a good supply for early into the next week,” Mr Feist said.

During the Saturday visits, the mobile donor centre will be located in the rear car park of Bathurst McDonald’s from 9.30am-1.30pm.

The next visit will be on Saturday, August 25.

To find out if you are eligible to make a blood donation or to make an appointment, call 13 14 95 or visit the Australian Red Cross Blood Service online.