On Sunday, November 14, Amber completed the gruelling Beach to Brother half marathon. Any half marathon is a slog but finishing with a run up north brother is something only the bravest of runners would attempt.

Even though it may not be the ideal shirt for 21.2 kilometres of road, beach and bush trail, Amber completed the event in a Lifeblood t-shirt, promoting the importance of donating with every step. Because if it wasn't for the generosity of donors, Amber would not be here today.

Amber received eight units of blood and three units of plasma following child birth complications. As she welcomed her new baby into the world Amber started to realise something was seriously wrong. Hours later she found herself in surgery with her family anxiously waiting for good news.

Related: Nicole's big marathon win in last kilometre

Fortunately, she pulled through but will always credit the anonymous blood donors for saving her life and ensuring her beautiful baby grew up with a mum.

Amber is now a committed blood donor.

Her blood is particularly important because it is O negative. O negative is the universal blood type and can be given to anyone in an emergency like those involved in road accidents, when there simply isn't time to find out their blood type. Only nine per cent of Australians have O negative blood, but it makes up 16 per cent of orders from hospitals because it saves lives in emergencies.

Amber was in good Lifeblood company on Sunday with the first woman across the line in the full marathon, the donor centres' very own Nicole Wilding.

Nicole works at both the Taree and Port Macquarie donor centres and is passionate about her work with Lifeblood and being a blood donor.

"Every blood donor is a life saver. I feel privileged to work for such a fantastic cause knowing that what we are doing is saving lives. Knowing that Amber was able to run on Sunday because of the generosity of donors makes the event so very special," Nicole said.

With one in three of us needing donated blood or blood products in our lifetime, the life you save could be that of a friend or family member.

To book a donation visit lifeblood.com.au, call 13 14 95 or download the free DonateBlood App.

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