Prof Brendan Murphy AC commences as Chair of Australian Red Cross Lifeblood

Recognised for his leadership as Chief Medical Officer during the Australian Government’s initial national COVID-19 response, Prof Murphy AC brings a wealth of experience to Lifeblood and will also sit on the Australian Red Cross Society Board. 

Lifeblood CEO Stephen Cornelissen AM welcomed Brendan to the organisation and said his experience as a clinician and leader, as well as his unwavering commitment to improving public health outcomes, would be a tremendous asset to the organisation in delivering its purpose of providing life-giving donations for life-changing outcomes. 

“Brendan brings a wealth of experience, leadership, and dedication to Lifeblood, and as we look forward to a future marked by further growth and innovation, his leadership will be instrumental in guiding us through new initiatives, partnerships, and challenges. 
Stephen also paid tribute to outgoing Chair Jim Birch AM and thanked him for his extraordinary commitment to Lifeblood since 2016.

“Jim has overseen Lifeblood during a period of extraordinary growth and innovation, during which we rose to the challenge of significant increases in demand for plasma and blood and diversified into breast milk donation for premature babies and other biological products. We thank him for setting a fantastic foundation for the years ahead.”

Prof Murphy AC said he was excited to be joining Lifeblood, saying its evolution from a blood collection service to one that now collects life-saving plasma, breast milk, poo for faecal microbiota transplants, as well as providing transplantation and immunogenetics services was quite extraordinary. 

“I’ve been a clinician for more than half my life and have seen how many lives are saved every day by blood and blood products, donated by Australia’s generous voluntary donors. With Lifeblood now collecting more plasma than blood, and needing more than 910,000 plasma donations this year, I’m excited to be joining as the organisation works towards expanding its donor eligibility criteria and grows its donor panel and network.”

Last year, Lifeblood collected more than 1.6 million donations, and with demand for blood at a 12-year high, and plasma demand at record levels, a further 100,000 people are needed to become donors this year. 

    Image: Lifeblood Board Chair Brendan Murphy AC