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May is Australian Rotary Health Month

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Australian Rotarians raise money for blood bank

By Arnold R. Grahl and John Feary

Rotary International News -- 19 April 2011

Rotarians have raised US$6 million for a new cord blood bank in Perth, Western Australia,

Australia, that will help patients facing life-threatening illnesses.

RI President Ray Klinginsmith participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the facility,

 a centennial project of Rotary clubs throughout the state, in December

. During a multidistrict conference in March, the participating districts

 celebrated reaching their funding goal.

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service will operate and manage the blood bank,

 which will be on the third floor of the organization’s building in Perth.

The project will cover construction, equipment, and certification costs,

 and contribute to the first four years of operating expenses.

The facility is expected to be completed this month.

The cord blood bank -- the first in the state and the fourth in the country

-- will store tissue types that are not available elsewhere in the world,

including those from ethnic groups indigenous to Western Australia.

Cord blood, found in the umbilical cord and placenta after childbirth,

 is a rich source of blood-forming stem cells.

 (The umbilical cord, placenta, and the blood they contain have no function after birth.)

 Stem-cell transplants have advantages over bone marrow transplants

in the treatment of patients with diseases of the immune system or blood, such as leukemia.

 The collection process is noninvasive, and involves a simple blood transfusion.

 There is also a lower risk of tissue rejection, infection, and similar complications.

Gail Lazzaro, senior scientist with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service in Perth,

says public cord blood programs allow any matched patient in the community to receive donations.

 “The blood bank will give healthy mothers giving birth to healthy babies

 the opportunity to donate cord blood for the good of the whole community,” she says.

The facility will link to the Australian cord blood registry.

 At a given time, about 1,100 patients are on search lists across the country

 for cord blood or bone marrow donations.

“The [Western Australia] cord blood program will be able to help fill the gaps

 in the national cord blood registry by focusing

 on the unique ethnic mixes in this community,” Lazzaro says.

 “It is patients with rare tissue types who are unlikely to find suitable matches.”

The centennial project launched in 2004-05 after a selection panel

 of non-Rotarians reviewed more than 50 proposals.

 The blood bank proposal was submitted by Inner Wheel clubs in Western Australia.

The medical nature of the project carries on a Rotary tradition in the region.

 In 1955, for Rotary's 50th anniversary, clubs in Western Australia raised funds

 to build the state's first medical school, at the University of Western Australia.

Lotterywest, an independent gaming agency supervised by the government,

contributed $2 million to the blood bank project,

 which also received support from corporate donors.

 Rotary clubs raised an additional $1.2 million through a variety of fundraisers.

Peter McKerracher, an assistant regional Rotary Foundation coordinator

and project committee chair, says the blood bank has helped strengthen clubs

throughout the state and enhanced Rotary's image in the community.

"Clubs across Western Australia have supported this project,

 and have been united in their support of it, for over five years," he says.

 "We are confident this facility will continue to serve the community for many years to come."

Parts of this story were adapted from Rotary Down Under

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reprinted with permission of Rotary Club of Attadale

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Group Study Exchange [GSE]

Rotary Club of Booragoon

Rotary Club of Corrigin

Outgoing GSE Team Member Paul Channon was a guest of the club

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Rotary Clubs of Mandurah

Annual Duck Race

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District 9455 Rylarians

Rotary Club of Busselton-Geographe Bay



Life-changing Rotary youth camp in Busselton

TWO students who attended Rotary's Youth Leadership Award (RYLA)

 camp in Busselton earlier this year, said the event had changed their lives forever.

At last Wednesday’s meeting of the Busselton Geographe Bay Rotary club,

 Patrick Hake and Caitlin Els said the confidence they had gained from the camp

 had allowed them to make life-changing decisions.

RYLA is a community project that Rotary has been running in the South West for over 20 years.

The program is designed to encourage young people out of their comfort zones

 and show them how they can gain the confidence

 to change their lives and take on leadership roles.

Patrick and Caitlin both admitted they had been pushed into attending the camp.

But by the end of the week,

 they had made major decisions about their future work and study.

Caitlin drove down from Perth on the afternoon of the Rotary meeting

and then drove back the same night to show her support of RYLA

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Rotary Club of Southern Districts

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Rotary Club of Batavia Coast

Progressive Dinner

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Rotary Club of Manjimup

Guest Speaker Glenys McDonald spoke on the sinking of HMAS Sydney

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Rotary Club of Canning Bridge

and the Make a Wish Foundation

Car Show

Rotary Club of Ascot

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Rotary Club of Southern Districts

Rotary Club of Mundaring

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Rotary Club of Heirisson

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Rotary Club of Kwinana

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Rotary Club of Swan Districts

Rotary Clubs of Kalgoorlie

had a Busy Bee at Peace Park

to erect some playground equipment

ROTARY CLUB OF KALGOORLIE

 will have the Western Australian Chief Scientist Professor Lyn Beazley as guest speaker.

 Professor Beazley will be speaking about an International Mega Science Project

 that is the largest radio astronomy project ever undertaken.

The meeting date is Monday 9 May.

 If you would like to attend the Kalgoorlie Club’s meeting please contact

President Sue Morley on 0407 437 077 and let her know.



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Rotary Cub of Melbourne

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ROTARY CLUB BIRTHDAYS

May 1st

Rotary Club of Karrinyup [1974]

May 13th

Rotary Club of Belmont [1960]

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May 17th

Rotary Club of South Perth/Burswood [1962]

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May 18th

Rotary Club of Corrigin [1964]

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May 26th

Rotary Club of Osborne Park [1978]

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May 28th

Rotary Club of Hannans/Kalgoorlie [1994]

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May 29th

Rotary Club of Albany Port [1979]

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"Quote of the Week"

You know you need to go on a diet when

* You dance and it makes the band skip.

* You are diagnosed with the flesh eating virus, and the doctor gives you 22 more years to live.

* You put mayonnaise on an aspirin.

* You go to the zoo and the elephants throw you peanuts.

* Your driver's license says, "Picture continued on other side."

* You ran away and they had to use all four sides of the milk carton for your picture.

* You learn you were born with a silver shovel in your mouth.

* You could sell shade.

* Your blood type is Ragu.

* You need an appointment to attend an 'open house'.