Longtime blood donor Sergeant Travis Carroll always thought he was doing a good thing for the community, but never realised its full importance. Then his 10-year-old daughter contracted leukaemia in 2017. "When my daughter got sick I actually saw the end result of where it goes and how important it is to so many lives," the Wodonga police sergeant said. "For a person in my daughter's position, it's essential - it's lifesaving. "Without it, blood cancer patients don't have a chance of survival." Sergeant Carroll's daughter is now in remission thanks to her treatment. "But without lifesaving blood from donors, we don't know, she probably wouldn't be with us today," he said. On Tuesday, December 5, Sergeant Carroll and Border colleagues urged the community and police to roll up their sleeves and support the annual Bleed4Blue Blood Drive. The initiative began five years ago following the near-fatal stabbing of NSW Detective Sergeant John Breda on Australia Day in 2018. More than 100 bags of blood were needed to keep him alive. Albury Sergeant Stephen McCaig said the three-month blood drive was a reminder of the importance of blood, plasma and platelet donation to save lives in emergency situations. "As first responders we are also first witnesses to the strong need for blood," he said, before rolling up his sleeve at the Albury Lifeblood donation centre. "As part of our work, we see serious motor vehicle accidents and serious crimes that may require blood to be given. "So we encourage people to donate when they can, particularly police and first responders." Besides donating to a lifesaving cause, Sergeant McCaig said the Bleed4Blue Blood Drive was also a competition to see which state could record the most donations. "I think we won last year, so we'll be looking to rally up some troops over the next three months and see how many donations we can get out," he said. "I'm quietly confident." Albury Lifeblood centre manager Sergio De Marchi described the blood drive as a great rivalry with an important message - "the need for blood is always there". "Every 18 seconds in Australia someone, somewhere needs blood or plasma," he said. "And one in three people will need blood in their lifetime, so it's absolutely essential that people donate on a regular basis." Mr De Marchi said although the need for blood doesn't take a holiday, "there's a chance for demand to increase over the Christmas and summer break". "There's lots of people going on holidays so we are always cautious that we have enough to meet the demand," he said. "So what we'd like to do is call out to, not just police, but new donors. "They can call us on 13 14 95 or visit lifeblood.com.au and make an appointment."