300 donations and still bloody going

It was 1980 when Mardan local Dan Monaghan first rolled up his sleeve to give blood.

Now, more than 45 years later, Dan completed his 300th blood donation on Monday, May 11 in Traralgon.

He first started the selfless tradition while working in the city, when the blood bank was close enough for a group of workmates to visit regularly.

Back then, he was donating whole blood every three months.

I was working in the city in the 80s, and a lot of us started going down there because it was close to the blood bank,” Dan said.

“We started going every three months just to give full blood. I did that for many years.”

After relocating to South Gippsland, he continued donating through the mobile blood bank in Leongatha.

It was there that a staff member suggested he consider donating plasma, as it can be given more often.

That advice would end up changing Dan’s routine.

Dan, who has five adult children and currently works in Leongatha, has been travelling to Traralgon every second Monday for almost 10 years, for the sole purpose of donating plasma.

The trip takes about 45 minutes each way from his home in Mardan, but Dan said the process has just become a part of his life.

“I just make that trip over every second Monday, and it’s just something I don’t mind doing,” he said.

“It’s a way of giving back. The people there are just so nice and courteous, and I enjoy just going over there. It’s become a habit now.”

Dan’s first 80 to 90 donations were solely whole blood, which can only be given once every three months in Australia, whereas the rest have been plasma donations, which can be given every two weeks.

He said there was no single event or personal connection that prompted him to keep donating for so long.

Instead, it simply came down to knowing that there were people out there who needed help.

“It’s just something that not everybody can do, for whatever reason,” he said.

“It might be travel or sickness or something else. To be healthy enough to give blood, it’s just something I don’t mind doing,” he said.

“It’s good to know that it’s going to help somebody.”

Reaching 300 donations is something Dan said he feels proud of, particularly with the support of his family.

“My sister Ann and my kids, they’re always asking what number I’m up to,” he said.

“Honestly, I feel pretty good about it.”

Dan’s routine is now well established, leaving Mardan at 5.30pm every second Monday to arrive in Traralgon for a 6.15pm appointment.

Then comes the other important part of the fortnightly tradition.

“What I normally do then is go and get a pizza,” said Dan.

The routine is familiar even to the pizza shop, who are also aware of Dan’s achievement.

One staff member has even encouraged Dan to aim for 400 blood donations.

“One of the guys said to me, ‘Why don’t you try and go for 400?’” Said Dan. He simply replied with, “That’s a lot of pizzas.”