NZME regional news editor Edward Rooney is one of a small percentage of type 0- paediatric donors whose blood can be given to newborn babies. File photo / Jason Oxenham
NZME regional news editor Edward Rooney is one of a small percentage of type 0- paediatric donors whose blood can be given to newborn babies. File photo / Jason Oxenham
EDITORIAL:
Healthy men of a mature age, the New Zealand Blood Service is waiting for your call.
There are about 29,000 people in need of a very specific assistance every year - transfusions of blood or blood products.
With New Zealand's population growing and ageing, another 55,000 blood donors areneeded to meet the 8 per cent increase in demand each year, the agency says ahead of World Blood Donor Day on Friday.
Both male and female donors of all ages will be welcomed with arms bearing a tourniquet and collection bag but it is men between the ages of 35 and 55 who are most needed.
Before anyone begins slapping slogans on placards such as we "we all bleed red", it should be noted there are purely logistical reasons for co-opting men for the cause. Men are usually bigger, so they can donate more plasma in each session, and those between 35 and 55 usually live settled lives and are more stable and loyal donors, according to the blood service's experience.
Every year the service loses about 25,000 donors as people drop off the registry due to reasons such as sickness, travel or tattoos.
Many people have offered to donate before and been declined for such reasons - but such restrictions may not apply any more and it is worth checking again. If a person was turned down for potential exposure to malaria while on holiday in Thailand for instance, the stand down period is four months, not a lifetime.
It is not easy for a new mother to admit she needed the kindness of strangers to save her baby. But she knows what a difference donating blood can make and, deep in your heart, so do you.
Even if you are still ineligible to give blood, you may be able to donate plasma instead. In such cases, donor blood is collected, the red blood cells and plasma and platelets are separated, and then the red blood cells and platelets are returned to the donor.
Collected plasma can be made into 12 different lifesaving products and is in high demand. The Blood Service has 110,000 loyal donors on file but needs the aforementioned 55,000 more, with 3800 of them becoming plasma-only donors.
Whole blood donors can donate 450ml of blood every three months while plasma donors can donate fortnightly because no whole blood is taken. The amount of plasma needed annually is increasing as medical professionals find more ways to use it for treating immunodeficiency and neurological disorders.
This week, we shared the story of baby Zani Toli, who would not be alive today but for the giving sorts who donated blood to be ready for when she needed it. It is not easy for a new mother to admit she needed the kindness of strangers to save her baby. But she knows what a difference donating blood can make and, deep in your heart, so do you.
Zani Tolu at six months after struggling through health issues for which she needed a blood transfusion. Her mother Malia urges people to donate blood. Photo / Dean Purcell
The thought of saving a life far outweighs any momentary discomfort at the collection.
The products refined from blood can save patients suffering burns or shock due to blood loss; those with liver failure or renal failure associated with severe protein deficiency; prevent haemolytic disease of newborns; to treat trauma patients and during cardiac/transplant surgery; manage haemophilia A, an inherited bleeding disorder requiring life-long treatment; reverse the anti-coagulant effect of warfarin in patients who are bleeding; fight infections such as chickenpox, tetanus or hepatitis B; treat people with immune deficiencies; or prevent hepatitis A in people travelling overseas to high risk areas.
To borrow a phrase from across the Ditch: "Where the bloody hell are ya?"
