Parents of Poppy Grace Middleton, the toddler who lost a fight against leukaemia in February, are calling for blood donations on behalf of their daughter.
A plaque in Poppy's memory was unveiled at Newcastle Donor Centre on Friday, marking her second birthday. It is adorned in iconic red flowers, with donation chairs on either side.
"We've got a little spot to remember her by," mum Carley Middleton said. "The team here have been quite shocked by how many people come in and say they are donating for Poppy Grace."
Mum Tresne Middleton said the 'Poppy Grace' Lifeblood team, to which members of the public can donate, has the largest amount of donations in Newcastle for a team in the namesake of a single person.
The call for more blood donations comes as it is revealed about 40 per cent of donors are cancelling on appointments statewide.
Lifeblood's group account manager Brian Bruce said a bad flu season had led to many no-shows at the Broadmeadow clinic. Supply blanks were running low.
"Blood lasts over 40 days but right now we are seeing it used in two to three days," he said. "We need A and O blood types particularly."
About 2,300 donations are needed in Newcastle every month but Mr Bruce said this number was not being met at increasing rates.
Cancer patients like Poppy are the largest group of blood recipients, receiving almost 10,000 donations each week nationwide.
Poppy's parents said the generosity of community kept their daughter living for eight months after a last resort bone marrow transplant failed.
More than 280 donations have been made in Poppy's name since mid-2021 and 840 lives have been saved as a result.
"Poppy was a bit of a perspective-shifter. People look at what she went through dancing and smiling and laughing, and then look at their own daily trials and they gather strength," Carley said.
"We made a call pretty early on in the piece that we would give her the best possible life she could have, no matter how long that was."
The couple celebrated their beloved daughters birthday with a cake and plaque unveiling, before seeing close family and friends. Their new puppy, a schnoodle, arrived on Thursday ready for cuddles.
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