The travelling plasma show
Long-term donor Nigel is now the face on the side of NZ Blood Service’s new plasma bus.
Taupō people will now be able to donate plasma as well as blood with the introduction of NZ Blood Service’s first mobile plasma bus.
Bookings are now available for the first plasma mobile drive in Taupō, which takes place from April 28-30 at Great Lake Centre.
Until now, plasma donations in the central North Island have only been possible at the permanent donor centres in Hamilton, Tauranga, and Palmerston North
Plasma is used to create up to 11 lifesaving products and can treat up to 50 illnesses from cancer and kidney disease to blood clots and liver failure.
The addition of the mobile plasma bus is expected to boost national plasma collections by 4%.
Donor Relations team leader Rachel Bowman says getting plasma collection up and running in a mobile format is a little more complex than whole blood donation.
The equipment is larger and takes longer to unpack, donation time is slightly longer, and teams need additional training.
“It has taken a lot of hard work to get to this stage and we’re all looking forward to officially being on the road.
“We feel a bit like a band going on tour – the Plasma Tour - but we are more tea, biscuits, and lifesaving plasma than rock n’ roll.”
The mobile plasma team is hoping to collect at least 115 donations per week.”
Bowman says they have hundreds of plasma donors across the central North Island, with some travelling for hours to visit a donor centre.
The face on the side of the bus actually belongs to one of these people – Nigel – who is a donor from rural Bay of Plenty.
He has been travelling to Hamilton to donate but began his donor journey as a high school student and was a regular blood donor by his mid-twenties.
A blood donation every three months soon morphed into fortnightly plasma donations after a nurse explained the growing need for the blood product frequently referred to as ‘liquid gold’.
“I remember thinking that if I could help someone out by sitting in a chair for an hour, it was an absolute no brainer.”
A move to rural Bay of Plenty in the early 2010s meant his closest donor centre went from being just down the road, to over 90 minutes away.
“Being able to donate closer to home, even if it’s just a few times a year, will make such a difference, especially for people who don’t have the ability to travel in the same way I do.
“It’s strange seeing yourself on the side of bus, but it’s for an amazing cause. I’ve already had a few people text to say they’ve seen ‘my’ bus on the road, and I’m hoping it will help encourage them and others to donate plasma.”
To book an appointment people should download the NZ Blood Service Donor App, visit www.nzblood.co.nz or call 0800 448 325.