Trevor Bergman has found a generous way to see Australia: donating blood wherever his travels take him. The Melbourne police officer has now given blood 545 times, visiting all 85 Australian donation centers along the way.
Bergman, 59, is among roughly 150 Australians known to have the anti-D antibody in their blood. Donations containing the antibody can help protect babies at risk of hemolytic disease of the newborn, a condition that can occur when a mother’s immune system attacks her baby’s blood.
The idea for his nationwide journey came during a vacation in Perth. After stopping at a blood bank there, Bergman realized that donating could become a meaningful part of exploring the country. His travels took him along the east coast, across to Western Australia and north to Darwin—places he said he might never otherwise have seen.
Not every stop went to plan. On one memorable visit to Albany, staff turned him away because he had “a sniffle.” But the journey ended on a celebratory note in Canberra, where Sam Mostyn joined him at an Australian Red Cross Lifeblood center and donated alongside him.
Bergman is glad to have played a part in helping people across the country. With Lifeblood estimating that one in three Australians will need donated blood at some point in their lives, his extraordinary journey is also a warm reminder of what each donation can mean.
