By Peter Bodkin in Sydney

THOUSANDS of blood donors are being urged to roll up their sleeves and give the gift of life over the Christmas period.

An extra 830 donations per day are needed nationwide between Friday and the start of January in order to meet hospital demand, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood says.

The blood service on Tuesday launched its annual Christmas donation drive, appealing for an additional 10,000 people to give blood or plasma by January 2.

Lifeblood’s Cath Stone said it had been a year of unprecedented demand for blood products, particularly in major-city hospitals.

“This is always a challenging time of year for blood supplies because the need for blood is ongoing, but many existing donors are travelling or people’s routines are generally disrupted so blood donation isn’t front of mind,” she said.

People including trauma victims, cancer patients, mothers and newborn babies all rely on blood donations at this time of year.

A ready supply of one component, platelets, is particularly critical as stocks only last for seven days.

“Trying to find the perfect gift within a budget will be stressful for many this festive season,” Ms Stone said.

“Giving blood and plasma doesn’t cost anything, but for a patient it will be life-changing.”

NSW police officers have been contributing to the blood donation push through the annual Bleed4Blue campaign, set up after the stabbing of an officer in Sydney on Australia Day in 2018.

The three-month campaign involving police, their family and friends runs until the end of February and challenges officers nationwide to compete to see which state and territory’s force can donate the most blood.

News all day, every day at CityNews.com.au.