New Porirua Donor Centre opens as demand for plasma continues to climb

New Zealand Blood Service is expanding access to plasma and blood donation as growing numbers of New Zealanders rely on medicines made from donated plasma. 

New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) has opened a new Blood and Plasma Donor Centre in Porirua as it continues to expand plasma collection across the country to meet increasing demand for life-saving plasma-derived medicines. 

The new centre at 3 Heriot Drive is NZBS’s second permanent donor centre in the Wellington region and, for the first time, gives people in Porirua the opportunity to donate plasma locally. 

It follows a series of initiatives designed to increase plasma collection around New Zealand, including the opening of the Constellation Drive Donor Centre on Auckland’s North Shore in November 2025 and the expansion of plasma collection through mobile drives in Whangārei and the central North Island. 

NZBS Chief Executive Sam Cliffe says increasing the number of places where people can donate plasma is becoming increasingly important as demand continues to rise. 

“We’ve seen significant growth in demand, particularly for immunoglobulin, which is used to treat people with a range of immune and other serious medical conditions. Over the past decade, the amount of immunoglobulin used in New Zealand has more than doubled, increasing by 114%, from 356,582 grams to 762,584 grams.

“The number of New Zealanders requiring immunoglobulin treatment has also increased substantially, rising by nearly 72% over the past decade. 

“To help meet growing demand nationwide, we need an additional 25,000 plasma donations across New Zealand by 30 November. That’s why increasing our collection capacity and making it easier for people to donate plasma regularly is so important.

“Plasma is used to make up to 11 life-saving products that thousands of New Zealanders rely on, and for some people these treatments are something they will need regularly throughout their lives. As demand continues to grow, we need more people to become regular plasma donors.” 

Between July 2025 and June 2026, 19,385 New Zealanders received plasma-derived medicines. These medicines are used to treat people with a wide range of serious illnesses and conditions, including those undergoing chemotherapy, recovering from major surgery, living with kidney disease or unable to produce the antibodies they need to fight infection. 

Unlike whole blood, plasma can be donated as often as every two weeks. During a plasma donation, blood is collected and separated, with the plasma retained and the red blood cells and platelets returned to the donor.

NZBS staff member Aimee Kinzett is the first to donate at the new Porirua Donor Centre.

Cliffe says recent initiatives to make plasma donation more accessible have shown encouraging results. 

“The response we’ve seen when we’ve taken plasma donation into more communities shows us that people want to help. Since 2020, we’ve increased our appointment capacity by 24%, adding around 800 more appointments each week, or approximately 38,000 additional appointments a year. 

“We’re also seeing encouraging results at our Constellation Drive Donor Centre, with more than 4,700 plasma donations collected since it opened last November. Porirua is another important step in making it easier for more people to donate plasma regularly.” 

The new donor centre will be open five days a week, with around 215 donation appointments available for plasma and 75 for whole blood each week.  

Until now, the Wellington region has been served by one permanent donor centre in Newtown, supported by mobile blood drives across the region. Mobile drives in Porirua have historically been well supported, and NZBS hopes the permanent centre will build on that strong local donor community.

NZBS staff member Ngaire Murray makes a donation.

NZBS Donor Relations Team Leader Sarah Field says Porirua has always been incredibly supportive of the regular mobile blood drives that run in the area, so it's clear there’s already a fantastic community of local donors who want to help others. 

“Now they have a permanent place to donate five days a week and, for the first time, the opportunity to donate plasma without having to leave Porirua. We hope it will encourage existing donors to donate more regularly and introduce a whole new group of people to plasma donation.” 

Around 90,000 people live within a 15-minute drive of the new centre. With 20 dedicated donor car parks, the new location has been designed to make donating as easy and convenient as possible. 

The Porirua Blood and Plasma Donor Centre is located at 3 Heriot Drive, Porirua and is open Monday and Friday from 7.15am to 3pm, and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12pm to 8pm. 

Appointments are available now. To book a blood or plasma donation, visit NZ Blood Service website, call 0800 448 325 or download the NZ Blood Service Donor App. 

About New Zealand Blood Service  

New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) is a Crown entity and the sole organisation responsible for the collection, processing, testing, storage and distribution of all blood and blood products in New Zealand.  

NZBS relies on voluntary and non-remunerated blood donations from individuals around the country to provide a constant supply of precious blood and blood products used by health services to help thousands of patients.  

NZBS also provides cell and tissue products and related services to meet public health needs and maintains national oversight of organ donation and distribution.    

Download the NZ Blood Service Donor App, visit www.nzblood.co.nz or call 0800 448 325 to book an appointment to donate. 

For media inquiries, please contact:

Sandy Trigg, Network Communication – on behalf of New Zealand Blood Service 
sandy.trigg@networkcommunication.co.nz  
021 231 9406 

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