Joshua knows the importance of giving blood

15 year old Joshua Baxter is a typical teenager. When he’s not at school, you’ll find him practicing new tricks at his local skate park, surfing the net or taking the occasional trip with his mates, but every Sunday night, he dedicates an hour and a half to infusing himself with Intragam P.

Joshua was born with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency and had to have a bone marrow transplant when he was six months old. The transplant has fixed a lot of his problems but his body does not produce all of the antibodies needed to fight off infection. That is where Intragam P (a plasma-derived product ) comes in: Joshua needs it regularly to provide the antibodies he cannot make for himself.

Thanks to Intragam P, Joshua enjoys a normal teenage life - he spends time with his friends, and is able to attend school and take part in sports. Without it, he would need to isolate himself from potential infection and limit his contact with other people – not a great concept for a teen’s social life.

Cutting straight to the chase, Joshua says “It’s a massive help ’cause without it I'd pretty much be stuffed.”

Having lived with needles since he was five months old, he sees them as simply a part of his normal life. According to his mother Jane, he is a great role model to his three-year-old brother, who is not scared of them because he is so familiar with seeing his big brother use them.

Refusing to let his condition cramp his social life, Joshua is more than happy to infuse himself on holiday, and recently did it in the car while on a trip to a mate’s bach for New Year’s Eve.

“Life’s pretty good, pretty normal ’cause of the blood transfusions," says Joshua.

The budding engineer has also inspired countless friends, family and colleagues to donate blood.

“We are truly blessed in New Zealand with a great blood service and wonderful blood donors. To all the donors out there - bless you for giving a priceless gift that money simply cannot buy. It is a gift that is a true equaliser of poor and wealthy alike,” says his mother Jane.