New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) has launched a new hard-hitting campaign to shine a light on everyday unseen emergencies and the pressing need for an additional 30,000 people to join the donor registry in New Zealand.

“This winter we are asking everyone who is eligible to donate to join our registry and start donating blood or plasma,” says Asuka Burge, NZBS National Marketing and Communications Manager. “We need to grow the donor registry from 110,000 to 140,000 donors to ensure we can continue to meet demand. And to do that we need people to act now!”

The new campaign, which launched on Monday 9th August focuses on five seemingly ordinary everyday scenarios that result in the need for lifesaving blood and plasma.

“The stories we are telling in our latest campaign are based on real people and real stories. They may seem a little confronting, but they are the reality for many of the 30,000 people every year in New Zealand who will require blood and plasma to help save their life.”

• Every day two babies in New Zealand will need lifesaving blood/plasma.
• Every week 117 New Zealanders will have a life-threatening accident and need lifesaving blood/plasma.
• Every month 177 Kiwi children under the age of 15 will need lifesaving blood and plasma. That’s six children every day.
• Every week 152 cancer patients in New Zealand will need lifesaving blood and plasma as a key part of their treatment.

“We are asking people not to wait to save a life, because unseen emergencies are happening every day. If someone was to ask, ‘would you be willing to help someone on what might be the worst day of their life’, most of us would say yes. That’s what blood donors do. Donating blood is the greatest gift a person can give, it’s like a future promise to save someone’s life.”

• Currently, less than 4% of eligible Kiwis currently donate blood.
• Everyday 83 New Zealanders will need lifesaving blood or plasma.
• NZBS needs to collect over 4,000 blood and plasma donations every week to meet current demand.
• Demand for plasma is projected to continue to grow by over 12% every year.
• NZBS has nine-fixed sites from Auckland to Dunedin and mobile blood drives are scheduled around the country.

Don’t wait to save a life. To book an appointment to donate download the app, visit nzblood.co.nz or call 0800 448 325 (0800 GIVE BLOOD).

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