The Sky Tower, New Zealand’s largest needle, is being lit up gold on Monday September 5 to highlight the sky-high need for plasma and plasma donors.

The golden needle marks the start of New Zealand Blood Service’s (NZBS) new campaign dedicated to shining a light on the increasing need of plasma and the importance it plays in helping people manage ongoing health conditions.

In a major shift in demand, NZBS now requires more plasma donations than blood donations, with more than 7000 new plasma donors needed across Aotearoa to help collect 130,000 plasma donations in the next 12 months.

And right now, it is tracking more than 5000 donations behind where it needs to be.

Asuka Burge, NZBS National Marketing and Communications Manager, says the demand is growing every year with the coming year’s target jumping up by 12.9%.

That is being driven by the increasing need for immunoglobulin products, also known as Ig, such as Intragam P and Evogam. These products are used for a variety of treatments for people with low levels of antibodies, either through illness such as infections, or cancers of the white blood cells and bone marrow, as well as some autoimmune disorders.

“Many patients who use Ig products require lifetime treatment on a regular basis, some as frequently as once a week. These people can’t just skip treatment, so we need Kiwis to not skip giving.

“Plasma is made into 11 different products and that’s why it is known as liquid gold. It can truly make a life-changing difference to recipients’ lives.”

Currently, there are 16,000 plasma donors in New Zealand who donate on average six times per year. And thanks to the unique plasma collecting process – known as apheresis – plasma donors can donate every two weeks, up to 23 times a year.

“The eligibility criteria to give plasma is similar to donating blood – you just need good veins and be able to allow 90mins for the total donation experience. In fact, some people find plasma donations less tiring as red blood cells are returned to their body as part of the process.”

To become a plasma donor, you need to meet donor eligibility criteria – including being over 50kg, aged 16-70 and being over 150cm tall. You can find out if you’re eligible to donate by visiting https://www.nzblood.co.nz/give-plasma/.

To help manage the increasing need for plasma, NZBS has taken measures to help make it easier for Kiwis to donate by introducing more late-night and Saturday plasma sessions at some of its sites.

Plasma donation is currently available at donor centres in Auckland (North Shore, Epsom and Manukau), Hamilton, Tauranga, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

There are also mobile plasma drives held across Auckland, a regular mobile plasma drive in Avalon in Wellington and a new plasma donation centre in Tuam Street in Christchurch.

© Scoop Media