Celebrating 25 years of New Zealand Blood Service

      July 1 will mark a milestone birthday for New Zealand Blood Service as we celebrate turning 25!

NZBS was established in 1998 to create a single, integrated blood service for all of New Zealand. Our job then, like today, was to ensure the safe and sufficient supply of blood and blood products – a job we couldn’t do without you, our donors.
During the past 25 years, more than 600,000 donors have stepped up to help improve and save the lives of more than half a million people.  Your contributions have been staggering - we’ve received more than:  

• 3.1 million blood donations
• 865,000 plasma donations, and 
• 98,000 platelet donations

We’ve also sent more than 1.3 million kilograms of plasma to Australia, where it’s transformed into 11 different products that are returned to New Zealand for use by people here.  And we’ve grown – we are now home to Organ Donation New Zealand, New Zealand’s National Heart Valve Bank, and the New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

Much has changed over the past 25 years; New Zealand’s population has grown from 3.8 million to five million; new diseases, tests, technologies, and treatments have been introduced; we’ve navigated challenges such as the Christchurch earthquakes and COVID-19. What hasn’t changed, is the consistent and growing need for blood and plasma, the selfless generosity of our donors, the heartfelt gratitude of recipients, and the commitment of our staff.

This July, the best birthday gift we could receive is your donation – we look forward to seeing you!