Privacy

This Privacy Policy sets out Australian Red Cross Lifeblood’s (Lifeblood) commitment to protecting the privacy of personal information, including health information, collected by or provided to Lifeblood in person or online.

This Privacy Policy details how personal information is collected, used, stored and disclosed by Lifeblood and your rights in relation to this.

What information we collect and hold

To provide life-giving blood, plasma, transplantation, and biological products, including milk and microbiome, for world-leading health outcomes, Lifeblood collects and holds personal information about individuals (including sensitive health information).

Donors

To ensure the safety of recipients and donors of tissue and biological products like blood, microbiome and milk, Lifeblood needs to collect information about health, medical history, travel and certain high-risk activities of donors and people volunteering to be donors including:

  • Name
  • Contact details including email address, mailing address, street address and telephone numbers
  • Date of birth
  • Medical history
  • Travel history
  • Certain high-risk behaviours relevant to a safe blood supply, such as recent sexual activity

Lifeblood will collect and hold the personal information supplied by donors when they register or attend Lifeblood as a donor including in the donor interview, test results for each donation, details of any adverse events and any communication or correspondence with individual donors.

From time-to-time Lifeblood may also collect personal information from donors or potential donors through customer surveys.

Recipients of blood products and other biological products

From time to time, Australian health service providers provide Lifeblood with details of recipients (including potential recipients) of blood products or other biological products.

This information may include the recipient’s name, blood type, test results and other health information.

Medical Pathology Services – Transplantations and Immunogenetics and Red Cell Reference

Personal information relevant to these services is not collected directly from an individual but is passed to the Lifeblood Tissue Typing Service via referral from the individuals treating health service provider.

This information could include:

  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Address, postal and email, and telephone numbers
  • Medical history, current medication, and other clinical information
  • Emergency contact details
  • Health fund and health insurance details
  • Medicare number

The personal information provided to Lifeblood meets the requirements for Medical Pathology Services (NPAAC guidelines).

Research participants

Lifeblood conducts research regarding blood donation and transfusion. Sometimes de-identified donation information, such as age and gender, may be used for that research. Research on donor behaviour using both donor and non-donor participants is conducted where consent is obtained from the individual.

Before research is undertaken in relation to any part of a blood donation, approval from an appropriate Human Research Ethics Committee is required and obtained by Lifeblood.

Transfusion Online Learning System

Email addresses and other demographic data provided via the Transfusion Online Learning system will be used for learner registration and access to the medical education materials.

The information in the Transfusion Online Learning system will be used to supply a certificate of completion/attendance to learners upon successfully completing an education activity; and provide this data to approved participating organisations for the purposes of staff credentialing, continuous professional development, or organisational accreditation. This may also be used for notifying learners of updates and new education materials in the system.

Currently we are using Google Analytics to analyse the audience of the website and improve our content. No personal information is collected from Google Analytics. For further information on the privacy policy concerning Google Analytics, please visit the website.

Lifeblood’s Privacy Policy details how to access information, how information is stored and how to make a complaint. Please see the relevant sections above for more information.

Antibody Register

The Antibody Register is a list of patients and donors with red cell antibodies which gives scientists and laboratory professionals timely access to the critical information they need to support patients who require specialised blood components. This information:

  • assists with red cell antibody identification
  • enables the provision of appropriate blood
  • reduces the risk of delay in supply
  • reduces the risk of haemolytic transfusion reactions

Inclusion in the register is by consent and the information collected on donors and patients includes.

  • Name
  • Email Address
  • Contact information
  • Health information related to antibodies

The register can be accessed by approved scientists, laboratory and medical professionals and will include their –

  • Name
  • Email Address
  • Contact information
  • Workplace information

Why we collect information

Lifeblood only collects personal information for the following purposes:

  • To assess the eligibility of individuals to donate products and to protect both donor’s health and safety and that of the recipients of those products
  • To maintain contact with donors regarding past, present and future donations
  • For research (subject to Human Research Ethics approval where appropriate), including research regarding biologicals and tissue including blood and blood products, microbiome, and milk and all aspects of safety and product improvement
  • To maintain contact with donors for the purposes of research, including market research, and participation in Lifeblood activities
  • To improve our processes.

Lifeblood also uses information collected from donors:

  • For research purposes, donor information will be deidentified where possible
  • for internal record keeping and administrative purposes such as risk management, education and training of staff, quality assurance activities and to monitor donor satisfaction; and
  • to comply with its legal obligations including under the Therapeutic Goods Act and health record laws

Recipients of products

To provide the most appropriate blood product, Australian health service providers from time to time provide Lifeblood with details of recipients of products. This information is held for future use in the event of further patient needs to assist in timely supply of appropriate products.

Medical Pathology Services – Transplantations and Immunogenetics and Red Cell Reference

The personal information collected by Lifeblood meets the requirements for Medical Pathology Services (NPAAC guidelines). The information is used to generate clinical reports which are provided to the appropriate health service providers directly involved in the individual’s clinical care for organ and stem cell transplant or immunogenetics testing.

Research participants

Lifeblood conducts world-class research to inform core activities and contribute to improved operational procedures and changes in clinical practice. Information from blood donors and other research participants is used to conduct this research.

 

Website visitors

Lifeblood may collect the following information about visitors to Lifeblood websites or users of Lifeblood mobile applications:

  • Additional personal information provided directly or indirectly through the use of the website, associated applications, associated social media platforms and or accounts from which users (including donors, recipients, health professionals and members of the public) permit us to collect information. 
  • Browser session and geo-location data, device and network information, statistics on page views and sessions, acquisition sources, search queries and browsing behaviour. 
  • Information about access and use of our website, including through the use of internet cookies, communications with our website, type of browser used, type of operating system used and domain name of internet service provider.

Information from visitors to Lifeblood websites may be used:

  • for data analytics, market research and business development, including to operate and improve our website, associated applications and associated social media platforms.
  • for online transfusion education programs run for health professionals.
  • to send individuals tailored information about blood donation and Lifeblood.

Disclosure of your personal information

Lifeblood may disclose your personal information to:

  • Lifeblood employees whose job responsibilities require such access.
  • third-party service providers for the purpose of enabling them to provide their services, including Australian health service providers where information is relevant for recipient care/clinical safety, IT service provider, data storage, webhosting and server providers, marketing, or advertising provider.
  • our insurers, but only to the extent necessary and permitted by law.
  • courts, tribunals, regulatory authorities, and law enforcement officers as required by law, in connection with any actual or prospective legal proceedings, or to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights.
  • third parties, including professional colleges and societies, agents, or sub-contractors, who assist us in providing information, products, services, or communications to you. This may include parties located, or that store data, outside of Australia.
  • third parties to collect and process data on behalf of Lifeblood, such as Google Analytics. This may include parties located, or that store data, outside of Australia.

If Lifeblood provides your details to a third party acting on behalf of Lifeblood, the third party will be subject to a confidentiality agreement and must only use your personal information for the purposes for which it was provided. They will be subject to privacy standards equivalent to those that Lifeblood is required to comply with.

Lifeblood will not use sensitive information, including health information, for any direct marketing.

Lifeblood will not sell your personal information.

 

Your rights and controlling your personal information

 

Consent

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By providing personal information to us, you consent to us collecting, holding, using, and disclosing your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Access and correction

Individuals have a right to request access to their personal information and to request its correction.

Should you wish to request any of the personal information we hold about you, proof of identity will be required to ensure information is only disclosed to the relevant person. Some information may not be immediately available, but we will attempt to deal with requests promptly.

The process for requesting or updating information you believe to be incorrect is as follows:

Once Lifeblood receives the form and confirms your identity the proof of identity you provide will be deleted or destroyed.

Lifeblood seeks to deal with requests promptly but the time to respond can vary depending upon the information requested and the number of requests received. If you can be as specific as possible about the information requested this assists in collating and providing the information.

If you believe any personal information, we are holding is incorrect or incomplete, please contact the Chief Privacy Officer at either:

Request for access to personal information held by Australian Red Cross Lifeblood
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Section
Media

Collection, use and disclosure of personal information through the Lifeblood website

You can access most parts of the Lifeblood website and browse anonymously without providing your personal information or without being identified. However, some of the functions of the website may require you to provide certain personal information.

When you email the Lifeblood team with a query, we will collect the personal information you provide. Subject to any exceptions within the privacy legislation, Lifeblood will not use or disclose this information for any purpose other than to progress and respond to your query.

Use of Cookies

Lifeblood may use cookies on our websites from time to time. Cookies are text files placed in your computers browser to store your preferences. Cookies, by themselves, do not tell Lifeblood your email address or other personally identifiable information. However, they do allow third parties, such as Google and Facebook, to cause Lifeblood advertisements to appear on your social media and online media feeds as part of Lifeblood targeting campaigns. When you choose to provide Lifeblood websites with personal information, this information may be linked to data stored in the cookie.

Lifeblood may use web beacons on our websites from time to time. Web beacons (also knowns as Clear GIFs) are small pieces of code placed on a web page to monitor the visitor’s behaviour and collect data about the visitor’s viewing of a web page. For example, web beacons can be used to count the users who visit a web page or to deliver a cookie to the browser of a visitor viewing the page.

Email addresses provided via this website will only be used to respond to specific user queries and will not be added to any mailing lists, nor disclosed to any other party without users’ knowledge and consent and as intended, unless required by law.

Visitor logs are used on this site for statistical purposes only. No attempt will be made to identify specific users or their browsing activity. De-identified data from these logs may be used to update and improve this website.

Transfusion Learning Website

Email addresses and other demographic data provided via the Transfusion Online Learning system will be used for learner registration and access to the medical education materials.

The information in the Transfusion Online Learning system will be used to supply a certificate of completion/attendance to learners upon successfully completing an education activity; and provide this data to approved participating organisations for the purposes of staff credentialing, continuous professional development, or organisational accreditation. This may also be used for notifying learners of updates and new education materials in the system.

Currently we are using Google Analytics to analyse the audience of the website and improve our content. No personal information is collected from Google Analytics. For further information on the privacy policy concerning Google Analytics, please visit the website.

Applications for employment

Personal information provided to Lifeblood for the purposes of seeking employment is collected and used only for the purposes of considering your application. The ‘Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Recruitment Privacy Statement’ is provided to all applicants and contains a description of how information will be collected, used and stored.

Review and amendments

Lifeblood may, at any time, vary this Privacy Policy by publishing an amended Privacy Policy on its websites. It is recommended that you check the Lifeblood website regularly to ensure you are aware of the current Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy will be reviewed by Lifeblood at least every 2 years or more frequently if required by the Privacy Act or other relevant legislation.

Overseas disclosure 

Lifeblood will not disclose personal information to an overseas entity except in circumstances where it is permitted under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). However, please note information about overseas storage in the “Storage and Retention” section above.

Disclosure of your information

Lifeblood will only use or disclose your personal information for the primary purposes for which it was collected (as set out above) or for directly related secondary purposes which you would reasonably expect (or that we have told you) or as permitted or required by law.

From time to time we may use or disclose aspects of your personal information for administrative processes such as risk management, education and training of staff, quality assurance activities and to monitor donor satisfaction. As a result, we, or someone we authorise, may contact you in the future to request your feedback about Lifeblood.

If we provide your details to a third party acting on behalf of Lifeblood for these purposes, the third party will be subject to a confidentiality agreement and must only use your personal information for the purposes for which it was provided.

In some instances, it may be necessary for Lifeblood to release personal information relating to your donation to our hospital customers, insurers or regulatory auditors. The hospitals, insurers and auditors will be required to hold this information in confidence.

Lifeblood will not sell your personal information.

Anonymity

You can contact Lifeblood anonymously online or by calling 1300 606 833. In some cases, Lifeblood may not be able to provide further information without verifying your identity.

If you are a milk donor you can contact Lifeblood anonymously online  or by calling the Milk team on 1300 459 040.

Information from Third parties

If Lifeblood receives information about you from a third party, Lifeblood will protect that information as set out in this Privacy Policy. Lifeblood only seeks to collect information from someone else if you have consented, it is authorised or required by law, or if it is unreasonable or impracticable to collect that information from you.

Unsubscribe

To unsubscribe from Lifeblood’s email database or opt out of communications please contact Lifeblood using the details below or opt-out using the opt-out facilities provided in the communication.

Storage and retention

Lifeblood is committed to ensuring that the personal information it collects is secure. To prevent unauthorised access or disclosure Lifeblood has put in place suitable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the personal information and protect it from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification, and disclosure.

To administer, secure and back-up your personal information, your personal information may be transferred, stored, disclosed, or processed in data centres located outside Australia, including the United States of America, Singapore, and other jurisdictions from time to time.

Where information is stored by a third party, Lifeblood requires them to comply with the Privacy Act and our Privacy Policy. This compliance will be monitored by Lifeblood.

Lifeblood is a national organisation and as such all donor information will be accessible to all our Donor Centres and Processing Centres in Australia, but only to those staff members whose job responsibilities require such access.

Under Therapeutic Goods Legislation Lifeblood maintains blood donor records for as long as reasonably required for the purposes of the safety of donors and recipients.

Under Health Records Legislation in various States and Territories, we maintain donor records of other products for as long as reasonably required for the purposes of the safety of donors and recipients.

Making a complaint

If you believe that Lifeblood has breached your privacy and wish to make a complaint, please contact Lifeblood setting out the details of the alleged breach, at either:

Your complaint will be promptly investigated, and Lifeblood will respond to you, in writing, setting out the outcome of the investigation and the steps Lifeblood has taken or will take to deal with your complaint.

If you are not satisfied with Lifeblood’s response you can refer your complaint to the Office of Australian Information Commissioner.

What if I have an inquiry to make regarding my information in relation to your Privacy Policy?

You can call 13 14 95 or contact us online here.
 

Data security

What steps are you taking to protect my information when I book online?

Measures to protect your information include:

  • Deleting this information when we no longer need it —we delete online inquiry forms after one (1) week 
  • Your online inquiry forms will not be used on our non-production servers
  • We have an appropriate level of security surveillance on lifeblood.com.au, and
  • A new and more secure online booking system.

This rigorous approach to protecting your information is in line with the requirements of the Privacy Act.

You can learn more about the Privacy Act by visiting the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

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