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Happy World Blood Donor Day 2018

Celebrating Unity Through World Blood Donor Day 2018 

  • World Blood Donor Day – Thursday 14 June 2018
  • Thank you to all our blood donors
  • Over 160,000 units of blood donated in 2017
  • #BloodConnectsUsAll #NZBlood #GiveBlood

It’s that time of year again when New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS), along with countries around the world, celebrate the incredible lifesaving commitment of blood donors. World Blood Donor Day is our chance to thank our 110,000 blood donors who help save over 29,000 lives across New Zealand every year.

 “Giving the gift of life through donating blood is a completely selfless act, and we feel it is worth celebrating,” says Asuka Burge, National Manager Marketing and Communications for NZBS. “That’s why we want to give our sincere and heartfelt thanks to all our wonderful donors.”

Last year over 110,000 New Zealanders donated whole blood, plasma and platelets, helping to save or enrich the lives of their fellow Kiwis. This year, NZBS wants to highlight how “blood connects us all,” by reinforcing the connection between blood donors and those whose lives they anonymously save or improve with every donation.

“There are hundreds of thousands of Kiwis out there whose lives have been positively impacted by these lifesavers, and it’s not just us who should be saying thank you – it’s all of New Zealand.”

Despite the fantastic support they receive from active blood donors, NZBS works continuously to actively recruit new donors, as they lose approximately 20,000 people from their donor database per year due to age, illness, travel, and/or personal choice.

“Voluntary blood donations are all we have to meet the demand as there are no synthetic alternatives to blood; NZBS needs to collect over 3,000 donations every week in order to keep up with demand,” says Asuka Burge.

“While it’s takes just an hour or so of your day to donate blood, the impact for those on the receiving end lasts far longer. It could even be a matter of life or death. Blood connects us all, and today we’re thanking all our donors for making this possible”.  

Find out more about becoming a blood donor by visiting www.nzblood.co.nz or calling 0800 GIVE BLOOD.

 

Published: 2018-06-13

2018

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