Great cause: 31st annual Summer Blood Challenge

It all began in 1979, when the Motorcycle Riders' Association of Australia (MRAA) issued a challenge to the Victorian Police to donate more blood than the state's motorcyclists during summer, which is a traditionally challenging time in the 'blood business'.

So began a tradition that still continues today, and 2009-2010 marks the 31st year for the Summer Blood Challenge, making it the longest running blood drive in Victoria - and a venerated community event.

Over 26,000 donations each week are required in Australia to ensure that local hospitals have enough blood and blood products to meet the needs of patients. That's over 338,000 donations in summer alone!

The challenge is not just for motorcyclists, and it also offers participating organisations and community groups the chance to become a part of the great cause.

This year, the challenge is introducing an online tracking feature, where organisations will be able to see how many donations have been made on their behalf at our website. In addition, there will also be a fortnightly email updating organisations on where they are positioned on the challenge ladder - hopefully not holding it up…

After you register your organisation, participants can elect to join your group. This only needs to be done once, as each donation will then automatically be attributed to the organisation.

While donations made since January this year will appear on the system, any of the donations made in December, January and February will be counted towards the Summer Blood Challenge.

To join the Challenge, please send through the application form.

Summer blood challenges will also be held in NSW, the ACT and Tas, so contact your local blood bank for more information.