But her official tally may be higher than that.
Originally inspired by her father, she’s just donated blood for the 50th time. She’s been donating at the Shepparton Donor Centre since it opened in 2001.
However, the 75-year-old retired real estate sales agent recalls donating for a long time before that, when the blood bank was located at the hospital.
Red Cross Lifeblood estimates that every blood donation can save up to three lives.
For those with O negative blood like Mrs Hill, donating blood can be especially beneficial because it can be used by anyone regardless of their blood type.
That makes it useful in an emergency when a person’s particular blood type may not be known.
However, only seven per cent of the population has this blood type.
Currently, Victoria’s supply of O negative is ranked as very low. This means people who need blood urgently will get it, but less urgent cases may need to wait.
With Australia currently at the end of cold and flu season, O positive, A negative and B negative are also running below ideal levels.
Mrs Hill said those who were nervous about donating blood need not worry.
“Come in, have a cuppa and something to eat, relax,” she said.
She finds the process quite efficient, with her past two donations taking less than five minutes each.
Despite the simple process, the impact can be quite significant. Her blood has been used to support patients locally as well as children at the Royal Children’s Hospital and Melbourne cancer patients.
“There’s always blood going to be needed somewhere,” she said.
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