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It’s not too late to give blood
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ByRuby Harfield
If you’reheadingtowards retirement, or well intoyourgolden years, helping save lives through blood donations is now easier than ever.
Last November, anumber of changes were made to NZ Blood Service’s (NZBS) donor eligibility criteria, which enabled more peopletogive blood.
The biggest of these changeswas the extension of the upper age limit– newdonors can now maketheir first bloodorplasma donation until they turn71(previously, it was 66).
Existing donorsand lapsed donors may now be abletodonateup until they are 81.
NZBS national marketing and communications managerAsuka Burgesaid more than 300 donorsmay benefitfrom this change.
“We arethrilledtoextendthe age criteria for both newand existing donors, so age is no longera barriertodonationfor eligible, fit and healthy donors.
“We know therewill beplenty of donors who will be delightedtohear this news and encourage anyone who thought they might betoo oldtodonatefor the first time to consider giving lifesaving blood or plasma.”
The service regularlyreviews itseligibility criteriabased on scientific evidence and international best practice,she said.
The changes were submitted to Medsafe for approval before being implemented.
Other changes includereduced stand down periodsfor donors withcertain medical conditions or those who have undergone a medical procedure.
Also, if a person hasrecently hada tattoo or body piercing, thestand down period has been decreasedtothree months.
“We strongly encourage everyoneto review the new criteria, especially if you are a donor over 71 or if you havenever donated and you areunder 71 years of age,” Burge said.
“It may be that youcan continue donating blood or plasma orstart your donation journeytoday.Pleaseget in touch and speak with one of ourteam to see if this is possible.”
AucklanderPaulTomlin, who is the country’s top donor, has many moreyears left of giving blood thankstotheextension.
Tomlinwas 19 years old whenhe first signed uptobea blood donor– he was accompanying his uncle and had agreedto givea fewminutes of his daytodonateblood.
Although he did notset outtobreak any records,Tomlincontinued making blood donations ona regularbasisfor the next 45 years andhas more than 600 donations under his belt.
Like clockwork,he showsupatAuckland’s Epsom donorcentre every second Fridayat 7.30am.
“The donorcentreis onmyway to work soI book myappointments and just stop by before I start myworkday”.
Tomlin worksatthe University of Auckland asa technician and saidhis workplacehas been supportive,whichhas only fuelled his dedication.
“I never thought I’d gettothis many donations, but the truth isI neverreally thought about it.
“I’ve just kept it up because it’s such a worthycause.”
He began donating whole blood before making the switchtoplasma, a procedure that takes about 45 minutes once on the donor bed, and involves an automated process where the donor gives onlya certain part orcomponent of their blood.
The donor’sblood iscollected, and the red bloodcells, plasma and plateletsare separated.
The plasma is thenextracted, and thered bloodcells and plateletsare returnedtothe donor usinga processcalled“apheresis”.
Plasmacollected in NewZealand is usedtomake up to 11 different life-saving medical treatments for people with immune deficiency related health issues.
More information about the donor eligibility changescan be foundat www.nzblood.co.nz.
