June 14, 2024
More Māori blood donors needed
It’s World Blood Day and Māori super-donor Koro Amai says he’s on a mission to get more Māori to give up some of the red stuff.
There’s 120,000 blood and plasma donors on the New Zealand register, but only 11,000 are Māori.
Mr Amai, from Kirikiriroa, hooks up twice a month and says his wife and mother of seven is dependent on a plasma product called Anti-D Immunoglobulin, which prevents Rh-negative mothers from developing antibodies against Rh-positive fetal blood.
They encourage friends, whānau and work colleagues to donate.
“Here in Waikato, I just work across the road from the center. Two of my colleagues went in and gave yesterday and came and showed me the kit kats and had their little pink bandages around their arms. That makes me feel good. I advocate all the time, so having this spot on the radio is a wonderful way to do that,” he says.
If you are interested in becoming a donor and want to know the process, go to the NZ Blood website. https://www.nzblood.co.nz