Isn’t that enough?”The New Zealand Blood Service says cancer is its fastest rising “unseen emergency” because as diagnoses and survival rates increase, so does the demand for blood and plasma. Every year nearly 8000 people need transfusions as a key part of their cancer treatment. While blood transfusions do not treat cancer, they provide healthy blood cells if the body isn’t producing its own, helping to relieve side effects. Currently, 110,000 Kiwis are on the donor registry – less than four per cent of eligible people – and NZ Blood needs 30,000 new donors to meet demand. “We rely on the blood service and these altruistic donors who continue to rock up and donate red blood cells, platelets and plasma.

Source: Stuff August 14, 2021 01:44 UTC