New Zealand Blood Service announces new Therapeutic Venesection Service for Palmerston North Donor Centre

New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) has announced a new Therapeutic Venesection Service will soon be available at its Palmerston North Donor Centre.

Therapeutic venesection is a medical procedure where a controlled amount of blood is removed from a person’s body via vein, similar to blood donation. It is an effective treatment for certain blood conditions such as haemochromatosis, a genetic condition where the body absorbs too much iron.

Therapeutic venesection nurse specialist Sam Hutton says providing the service at NZBS’ Palmerston North Donor Centre will have positive impacts for local patients and their families, the health sector, and even whole blood collection numbers.

“Currently, therapeutic venesection patients are treated at Palmerston North Hospital in the Haematology and Oncology Day Stay Unit. The hospital setting isn’t ideal for these patients who are, for all intents and purposes, fit and well.

“By offering therapeutic venesection at the Donor Centre, we can provide a more suitable setting for these patients and also help alleviate some of the pressure on critical hospital space and resources.”

The benefits of the service transfer to the Donor Centre will be felt far beyond Palmerston North too, contributing to life-saving blood donations.

“The hospital environment isn’t set up to collect blood for donation, so blood drawn from therapeutic venesection patients in Palmerston North is currently discarded,” explains Ms Hutton.

“That will change when we offer the service within the Donor Centre. When suitable, NZBS will be able to use the blood removed during therapeutic venesection just as we would a whole blood donation.

Nationally, NZBS is able to collect and use the blood from around half of the therapeutic venesection patients it treats via services in eight other donors centre locations.

The Donor Centre will initially provide the service to existing therapeutic venesection patients with haemochromatosis in the region, averaging 10 treatments a week, with the number expected to increase over time.
Hutton says the service is expected to be open and operating in early December.

“Preparation is well underway. Agreements are finalised with Health New Zealand and we have five NZBS nurses from Palmerston North spending two weeks in Auckland, upskilling on therapeutic venesection.

“We are also working through outpatient scheduling, and communicating about the change with key stakeholders, including hospital staff, GPs, and patients themselves.

“It’s been a busy time as we work through all the final details, but knowing the difference this service will make to so many once it’s up and running is really quite exciting.”

For media inquiries, please contact:

Lottie Dine, Network Communication, 022 852 7827, charlotte.dine@networkcommunication.co.nz

Ximena Smith, New Zealand Blood Service, 027 844 0073, ximena.smith@nzblood.co.nz