New Zealand Blood Service takes plasma donation on the road across central North Island

Due to launch on 21 April, the plasma bus will be on the road every week of the year, visiting venues in Hastings, New Plymouth, Taupō, Whakatāne, Matamata and Rotorua. 

“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!” says Donor Relations Team Leader Rachel Bowman. 

The first of its kind in Aotearoa, the plasma bus has been specially designed to safely transport the equipment needed to set up mobile plasma drives in communities without fixed donor centres. Like a well-packed tour bus, every inch of space is used efficiently to carry eight plasma donation machines, a healthy supply of refreshments, and passenger seating for nine NZBS staff members. 

“Getting plasma collection up and running in a mobile format is a little more complex than whole blood donation,” says Bowman.  

“The equipment is larger and takes longer to unpack, donation time is slightly longer, and our 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.” 

Bowman says 55 percent of whole blood donations come from mobile drives, which will continue to operate as usual across the central North Island. 

“Mobile drives are an essential part of our nationwide collection strategy, and the expansion of mobile plasma collection into these regions will further strengthen our approach.”  

The mobile plasma team is hoping to collect at least 115 donations per week, which is expected to boost national collections by 4 percent. 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. 

Currently, plasma donation in the central North Island is only possible at the permanent donor centres in Hamilton, Tauranga, and Palmerston North. With the Service taking to the road, more New Zealanders will have the opportunity to donate plasma closer to home.  

“We already have hundreds of amazing plasma donors across the central North Island, with some often travelling for hours to visit a donor centre,” Bowman says. “It’s very fitting that the ‘face’ of our fully branded plasma bus is himself a plasma donor from the Bay of Plenty.” 

Nigel, who lives in a small coastal town in the region and regularly travels to the Hamilton donor centre to donate plasma, was shoulder tapped for the role. He 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,” Nigel says.  

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. Nigel’s experience reflects a situation NZBS addresses nationwide: willing donors whose circumstances make donating regularly challenging. 

“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.”