Novocastrians roll up their sleeves in response to Bondi terror attack

Newcastle has rolled up its sleeves as residents from across the region donated blood in response to the Bondi beach terror attack on Sunday evening.

Lifeblood faced its biggest community response across the country since the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, with 20,000 appointments booked nationally as of 1pm on Monday.

A third of those were booked in NSW, with Newcastle locals showing up in droves to give vital blood and plasma.

Lifeblood Newcastle Donor Centre manager Mark Sjostedt said the response has been overwhelming.

"People have answered the call-out in force, it is incredible to see," he said.

"We have been non-stop since 7am this morning with people wanting to make bookings and with walk-ins looking to do their part."

Mr Sjostedt said the circumstances were horrific and traumatic, but the response from the public is always strong when there is a time of need.

"We always see an uplift when an emergency happens as people answer the call to do their part."

He said that usually they would see 100 donors during the day, but they were expecting to cater to at least 200 on Monday.

"We are just trying to get as many people in as we can," he said.

"As you can imagine, we hate turning people away so we have called in extra staff to get as many people in as we can. It's all hands on deck."

In the event of a serious trauma event or emergency, up to 100 blood donations may be needed to save just one life.

Gabriel Murphy donated full blood on Monday.

She said she was already booked for her regular donation, but the events in Bondi drove home the reason she donates.

"I work in healthcare so I have seen first hand the effect blood donation has on people who need life saving care," she said.

"I was glad that i was already booked in and i was so relieved when I saw the police commissioner make the call out to people because it can make a huge difference."

Ms Murphy said she had never seen the centre so busy.

"I was touched, people want to help when people are in need but often they don't know how to," she said.

"This is one thing they can do, it's a really simple and comfortable process and there is such a need for blood even when we are not in times of crisis."

A Lifeblood spokesperson said the Maitland and Newcastle donor centres were on track for almost double the number of donors compared to a normal day.

"We are seeing incredible support across all our centres in NSW and there are long lines out the front of all our centres, as well as long wait times to get through to our call centre and issues with the website," they said.

"The main message there is that we will need support over the coming three weeks to get supplies back up to where we need them, after so much blood went out the door last night.

"Hospitals were already busy, and those ongoing donations will be really critical for patients moving forward.

"We have also had support from other states this morning, with blood flown in from other states.

"Particularly platelets and plasma, which are used in surgery and to stop bleeding.

"When tragic events occur, donating blood is one way to help people."

To donate blood or plasma, visit lifeblood.com.au, call 13 14 95 or download the Lifeblood app.