Volunteers are the backbone of our community, collectively contributing hundreds of thousands of hours of work every year.
Our Unsung Heroes series shines a spotlight on some of the local residents working quietly in the background to keep our community thriving.Lifelong Mt Barker resident David Orr first became a blood donor in the 1980s and has since clocked up more than 260 donations.
He first signed up because his employer, ETSA, offered staff time off work to donate.
But more than three decades later, the retiree still makes the journey down to Adelaide every fortnight.
“I like to give back to the community,” he says.
“… It only takes a couple of hours out of your time and you’re helping save quite a few people’s lives with plasma donations.”
David began donating whole blood, which requires a 12-week interval between visits to allow the body to replenish red blood cells, but later switched to plasma, which can be donated every fortnight.
While red blood cells, taken from whole blood donations, are used to help treat trauma, cancer, birthing and surgical patients, donations of plasma – the liquid component of blood that holds red and white blood cells – can be used to fight infections such as tetanus, treat immune deficiencies and help to stop critical bleeding.
David, who also volunteers as a medical driver for the Mt Barker Council, says volunteering is a way to give back to the community.
“If you can and if you’re able, you should give back to the community, I think,” he says.
“If you’ve had a good life, you can share with other people and help out where you can, because there’s always people worse off than yourself.
“And it keeps you sane too, because being retired, you can’t always be busy.”
