Tina Arena, Ngaiire Cover Sia Song to Honor Blood Donors

Tina Arena thought she'd power through feeling unwell in October 2023, but within hours, she woke up in intensive care fighting for her life.

The ARIA Hall of Fame singer had developed kidney stones and septicaemia, a deadly bloodstream infection. When she asked doctors about her tour scheduled for 10 days later, they laughed and told her she wasn't going anywhere.

A blood transfusion saved Arena's life. Now she's making sure blood donors know just how much their gift means.

Arena has teamed up with singer-songwriter Ngaiire to record a stripped-down version of Sia's "Unstoppable" called the Unlikely Version. Every artist and band member on the track has been saved by blood, plasma, stem cells or platelet donations.

Ngaiire knows the power of blood donations firsthand. At age three, she was diagnosed with ganglioneuroblastoma, a rare cancer that left her bed-bound with pipes coming in and out of her body for years.

She needed radiotherapy, chemotherapy, two major surgeries and blood transfusions. Doctors weren't sure she'd survive, let alone have a normal life.

Today, Ngaiire is in remission, building a music career and raising her nearly eight-year-old child. None of it would have been possible without strangers who rolled up their sleeves to donate blood.

The Ripple Effect

The numbers tell a striking story. Australia needs 1.7 million donations of blood, plasma and platelets every year, yet only one in 30 Australians donate.

At the same time, one in three Australians will need a blood transfusion at some point in their lives. That gap means lives hang in the balance while donations remain critically needed.

Ngaiire sees her survival and everything that followed as proof of what's possible when people give. The stranger who donated blood decades ago gave her the chance to catch a bus to work, build a career and start a family.

Arena, who plans to tour France in October and Australia next year, says the message is simple. We all run the same color when it comes to blood, and any of us could need it someday.

The song strips away the power of Sia's original arrangement to reveal something more intimate. Arena wanted to capture the essence of what it means to be unstoppable not through strength alone, but through the generosity of others.

Both artists hope their story inspires Australians to book a donation appointment and give someone they'll never meet the most phenomenal gift imaginable.