The NZ Blood Service is the sole provider of blood products to hospitals in New Zealand and they rely on the generosity of donors to save lives. Approximately 1% of the NZ population (or 42,000 patients) are treated with blood or blood products each year. So it’s not surprising they require about 3,000 donations each and every week to meet hospital requirements.

Each donation received can be separated into several components, which can then be used to treat different types of patients, for example, adults and children with leukaemia, transplant patients, patients undergoing surgery, and accident and burns victims.

Friday 14th June is World Blood Donor Day and to highlight those unsung heroes who donate, we chatted to a few of our staff members who are regular blood donors about what it means to them.

Rose: Hi guys, thanks for coming along to chat about being a regular blood donor. First up, can you tell us how long each of you have been donating blood?
Colin: For me, it’s been about 40 years.
Sigi: Nearly 18 years for me.
Thomas: I’ve made 34 donations in the last 18 years.
Steve: For about 20 years.
Michael: I started back when I was in high school and the NZBLOOD app says I have donated 95 times. But, I actually switched from whole blood donation to plasma (apheresis) as they use plasma for lots of different blood products. They call it ‘liquid gold’ and you can donate far more frequently than whole blood.

Rose: Wow – that is incredible and such a long time for all of you. What motivated you to start and then keep donating over this long timeframe?
Colin: I have a medical scientific background in bloodbank and seeing the number of life-changing/saving products produced from donations was a huge factor.
Steve: My mother was a regular donor well into her seventies. So in a way I do it to honour her.
Sigi: I always thought that it was such a good thing to do, but was a bit afraid of the first time and so never got around to doing it. Then a colleague asked me to come along. Even though I was nervous, it all went well and I kept donating. Later, after giving birth to my daughter, I needed blood transfusions. It means a great deal to me that I can now give back to someone else who may need it.
Thomas: In NZ, people who lived in the United Kingdom (UK) between 1980 and 1996 are excluded from donating blood because of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sometimes called “mad cow disease”). Unfortunately, this applies to a large majority of people here as they are either immigrants from the UK or have spent more than 6 months residing there during that time frame. NZ Blood is the only provider of blood products in NZ and this means there is a particularly high need for those who are eligible to donate blood to meet their requirements.
Michael: My mother was a nurse and donated regularly and she would take me along sometimes when I was a teenager. I feel good about giving plasma and knowing that it saves lives.

Rose: What would each of you say to someone who is considering donating for the first time?
Sigi: There are so many who would donate but who can’t as they have lived in the UK or for medical reasons. Your blood can help so many, so if you can donate – do it.
Thomas: It is nothing to be afraid of. It will take less than an hour and you can save lives.
Steve: It’s a valued service to your local community, it doesn’t take long and naturally can have a direct effect in saving lives.
Michael: It might be a bit scary the first time, but think about the people you will help. Just one donation can help save the lives of up to three people!
Colin: Do it … the chocolate biscuits after are awesome! (Just joking)

Rose: Thanks guys for chatting with us today. As someone who had a family member who received much needed blood transfusions, I just want to say an enormous thank you to each of you and to everyone in NZ who donates blood. Your selfless generosity is priceless.

If you are interested in donating and aren’t sure if you are eligible – visit the NZ Blood website.

(L to R: Colin McKenzie – Sales Director; Steve Luscombe – Principal Design Engineer; Michael Anderson – Delphic AP Development Manager; Sigi Hesse – Senior Analyst Programmer; Thomas Hesse – LIS Development Manager)