Jonathan's Story

My first donation was when I was 16 at school. It was a really handy way to get out of a period of class at the time. I don’t recall donating very much from then, but picked it up again around 2000 after my father had a serious motor cycle accident. From there I was a pretty regular donor in the Wellington donor centre. I had asked about the apheresis machines at the other end of the donation rooms, and they explained what it was and had a look at my veins to make sure I would be suitable. At my next donation I donated platelets, and have been doing so ever since.

Carol, Linda, Anne, Annie and the rest of the team in Wellington were always in a good mood, and always interesting to talk to. Since moving to Christchurch, I've found that the team down here is just as good to deal with. I think I have been through three different collection protocols for platelets now, and plan to continue donating as long as possible. I am a little lucky as I have a role that allows me some flexibility with my work hours, and I am able to donate every two weeks. Last month I made it to 150 donations, hopefully with many more to come.