MELBOURNE, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Red Cross Blood service has been inundated with calls from the public wanting to give blood since the disastrous bushfires last week, according to the Australian Red Cross.

    Spokesperson for the Red Cross Media Center in Melbourne Jen Brown told Xinhua in a recent interview that there were already over 30,000 people who went to donate blood since the devastating fire occurred, hitting a record high.

    The bushfires have caused dozens of injuries but that did not add the demand of blood. The Red Cross, therefore, has not appealed to the public to give blood. Still, there has been a large crowd lining up for blood donation, showing Australian people eagerness to care and help, said Brown.

    A staff called Anna from the Mount Waverley blood donation center in Melbourne told the reporter that normally they serve about 60 people each day, while on the day just after the bushfires started, over 120 people went to give blood.

    She said that the center did not close until 9 p.m. on that day and some people even waited for three hours before being served.

    To deal with the people jamming in blood donation centers, the Red Cross has recruited volunteers who worked overtime to serve the donors. Besides, they called on the public to make appointment before heading for the centers.