Thanks to new medical techniques, less blood is needed to save Kiwi lives, says NZ Blood service.
Every month NZ Blood Service, based in Palmerston North, makes its way to Whanganui for a two-day blood drive.
Over that time an approximate average of 160 locals give roughly 80 litres of blood.
But now less blood is needed, and the monthly blood drive visit has been scaled back from a two-day event to just one.
"Over the past 20 years we've learnt a lot about what the body needs," said a NZ Blood spokeswoman.
She said as medical knowledge has improved medical practitioners have become aware that the body often needs less blood in a transfusion to make a recovery.