It was a morning of giving back for several highway patrol members from the outer east, choosing to donate blood and plasma as part of a major donation drive.
The group of 10 officers from Eastern Division Two’s Highway Patrol Unit, based out of Knox and the Yarra Ranges, headed to Ringwood’s Lifeblood Donor Centre on Wednesday 28 January.
Senior Sergeant Brendon De Schwartz said the idea came from fellow member Leading Senior Constable Suzanne Brendel, acknowledging the significant road trauma police members deal with regularly.
“We go through a lot of road trauma, and as a result of road trauma, a lot of people need blood to fix their injuries,” Snr Sgt De Schwartz said.
“(Suzanne) thought it would be a great idea for us to be part of that community engagement side of things, to actually donate blood and help those who really need blood supply.
“It’s critically low. As we know, we hear it all the time, advertised that blood supplies are critically low. We just thought it would be a great idea to help the community out and help those in need (of) such an urgent supply of blood.”
Donating blood at this time of the year was also intentional, with the Australia-wide Bleed4Blue donation drive running for state police divisions from 1 December to 28 February.
It becomes quite a competitive event between the states each year. New South Wales’ police force was outdoing Victoria Police as of 28 January with a total of 1159 donations, but Victoria was trailing closely with 1062.
“It highlights the critical importance of blood, plasma and platelet donation to save lives in emergency situations, which can require large quantities of blood,” Lifeblood relationship manager Geneveive Dobson said.
“Bleed4Blue began in 2018, following the near-fatal stabbing of NSW policeman John Breda in Maroubra. He needed 100 bags of donated blood to keep him alive.
“Police officers are usually first on the scene, so we think it’s amazing to see them so committed to saving lives on and off the job!”
The first time this team has donated blood together, Snr Sgt De Schwartz said he hoped it could become a more regular group outing and a way to step away from the day-to-day of road policing.
“It brings the team together, because we’re so used to seeing really nasty stuff on the road. So this is a good way of everybody getting together, a little bit more of a low-key day.
“They get to do something a little bit different for the community, that’s why we are police; we work for the community.”
The Yarra Ranges and Knox saw 21 fatalities on local roads in 2025, with two deaths already recorded this year in incredibly traumatic circumstances, which saw some of the members attend the collision.
Snr Sgt De Schwartz said being able to do something positive was both good for the highway patrol members and the broader community.
“It gives them a bit of decompression as well, and just takes them away from constant road trauma,” he said.
“We do a lot of road enforcement, and people are used to us giving penalty notices out as part of our job and role to prevent road trauma.
“This is just another way we can show people that we’re here to support the community in a lot of different ways.”
