Blood donors are an essential part of the health care system – without their donations, frontline workers wouldn’t be able to do the work they do Less than 4% of the eligible population donate Every 18 minutes, someone in New Zealand needs blood or plasma .
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Rushed to hospital in Greymouth, he underwent emergency surgery before being airlifted to Wellington for more.
The 26-year-old required 31 blood transfusions to keep him alive. To wake up knowing your whole body is full of other people s blood, and you ve literally lost your entire volume of blood with an internal injury and surgery, was surreal, he said.
The New Zealand Blood service says the amount Latham required equates to 31 individual blood donations.
It s a staggering amount, but not an isolated case. The Blood Service is now calling for people to consider becoming a donor in 2021. Blood only lasts 35 days, so that s why we constantly need donors to book and come in, spokesperson Asuka Burge said.