New Zealand Blood Service marks 25 years of lifesaving work

New Zealand Blood Service will mark quarter of a century of lifesaving work this month when it turns 25. 

Established in 1998, the service transformed what was then a disjointed blood transfusion sector into one, national organisation that has since helped to save or improve more than 540,000 lives.

New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) chief executive Sam Cliffe says New Zealand is internationally recognised for its safe, quality supply of blood and blood products.

“We’ve consistently introduced new technology, testing, and systems to make donation safer, more comfortable, and easier,” she says. “But none of what we do would have been possible without our donors’ selfless generosity.”

More than 610,000 people have donated during the service’s lifetime, with the current number of active donors sitting at around 117,000 people.

“Our donors really are the heroes of our story,” Ms Cliffe says. “There is no substitute for what they gift to us – they enable us to supply blood and products that improve or save the lives of around 30,000 people every year.”

A single blood donation can save up to three lives and New Zealand needs more than 5,000 donations every week to meet demand.

“When we began in 1998 we served a population of around 3.8 million people,” Ms Cliffe explains. “But that figure has now climbed to more than 5.1 million people, and the demand for plasma has increased exponentially and continues to grow by around 10 percent every year.”

During the past quarter of a century, more than 1.3 million kilograms of plasma have been transformed into 11 different products used to treat people who have lost a lot of blood due to accident or other trauma, or who have severe bleeding during surgery.

This ‘liquid gold’ is also used to boost the immune systems of people with low levels of antibodies, to control some autoimmune disorders, and to support people with certain bleeding disorders.

Since 1998 NZBS has also collected more than 3.1 million donations of whole blood and 98,000 donations of platelets, and has issued more than 2.5 million units of red blood cells.

To ensure Aotearoa remains self-sufficient for its blood and blood products New Zealand Blood Service is inviting new donors to join its lifesaving whanau - even if it means only donating once or twice a year.

“We’ll be seeking around 40,000 new donors over the next 12 months, and every drop counts,” Ms Cliffe says.

And while collecting blood and plasma will always be at the heart of what NZBS does, the service is also now home to Organ Donation New Zealand, the New Zealand Bone Marrow Registry, and the National Heart Valve Bank. The organisation also carries out tissue-typing for donor skin, bone and organ grafts.

“We’ve grown significantly and become such an integral part of the health sector landscape that many people can’t recall a time when New Zealand Blood Service didn’t exist,” Sam Cliffe says. “That’s a real achievement, and one that our donors, staff, and health sector colleagues can all take pride in”.

Visit the New Zealand Blood Service website to learn more about becoming a donor.

About New Zealand Blood Service

New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) is a not-for-profit Crown entity responsible for collecting, processing, testing, storing, and distributing all blood and blood products in New Zealand.

NZBS relies on voluntary and non-remunerated blood donations from individuals around the country in order to provide a constant supply of precious blood and blood products used by our health services to save thousands of lives.

NZBS also provides cell and tissue products and related services to meet public health needs, and maintains national oversight of organ donation and distribution. 

Additional information

• Every 18 minutes in New Zealand, someone requires a lifesaving transfusion of blood or plasma.
• Less than four percent of New Zealand’s eligible population currently donate.