With the cold and flu season peaking late this year, numbers of donors have cancelled appointments and that’s just how the cookie crumbles, but donors are urged to “crumb on over” to the centre to boost local appointment numbers and enjoy Australia’s best biscuit.

The service needs an extra 200 donors between now and the end of the month and Tamworth is aiming for 700 new donors in the coming 12 months.

Blood service spokeswoman Jemma Falkenmire said giving blood made people feel great, only took an hour and meant they could enjoy Australia’s best biscuit and some of the best milkshakes to be found anywhere.

“We believe it’s the best biscuit because it’s the only one that saves lives,” she said.

“Right now we still need biscuit-loving donors to roll up their sleeves and help us overcome this cold and flu problem.”

Regular donor James Harrison from Tamworth said he wanted to give back.

“I want to give back to those who help me, in the general sense of the community,” he said.

The Cookie Monster said the biscuits at Tamworth blood donor centre were the best he’d ever had - a big call from someone who makes it his business to know everything there is to know about cookies.

Some of Australia’s best known chefs including Gabriel Gate, Donna Hay, Kylie Kwong, Matt Moran, Neil Perry and Adriano Zumbo have put their support behind the initiative and given the biscuits their bite of approval.

Australian Red Cross Blood Service’s Alanna Garn said the service was looking for 115,000 new donors nationally in the next year and Cookie Monster and the celebrity chefs with the biscuits would be part of that campaign for “quite a while”.

To make an appointment call the blood service on 131 495 or visit www.donateblood.com.au/biscuit