Across the region, NZBS needs to collect more than 700 donations for the remainder of March to meet current demand.

However, over the next three weeks, only 67 per cent of appointment slots are currently filled, and the service is seeing an increasing number of no-shows across its Bay of Plenty sites and mobile blood drives.

“This month across the Bay of Plenty region, around 31 per cent of appointments booked to donate blood and plasma were cancelled,” says NZBS national marketing and communications manager Asuka Burge.

“The combination of cancellations and low future appointment bookings is making it difficult to accurately forecast collections rates and meet targets.

“We need healthy, eligible donors in the Bay of Plenty region to book an appointment to donate to help us ensure we can continue to have enough supply to meet demand.

“We also need people who cannot attend a scheduled appointment to either reschedule or cancel the appointment, in order to free up slots for other people who can donate.”

The Tauranga Donor Centre is located at 154 Cameron Road, Tauranga.

NZBS is also holding several mobile blood drives across the Bay of Plenty region this month at the following locations:

• Holy Trinity Church, 215 Devonport Rd, Tauranga, March 16, 3pm-7pm
• Katikati Memorial Hall, 29 Main Rd, Katikati, March 17, 8.30am-1pm
• Napier Sailing Club, 63 West Quay, Ahuriri, Napier, March 29-31, 7am-2pm

To book an appointment to donate visit nzblood.co.nz, download the App, call 0800 448 325 or sign up to Facebook’s Blood Donation tool to receive notifications about opportunities to donate blood near you.

New donors are encouraged to find out if they are eligible at nzblood.co.nz and then book an appointment to donate.

Donors are asked to book an appointment to donate, rather than just turning up. Appointments help manage the social distancing and flow of people in donor centres at any given time and allow NZBS to forecast supply, ensuring it is collecting enough blood types and blood products.

• Blood must be transfused within 35 days.
• Nationally, NZBS needs to collect over 4,000 donations every week to be able to meet demand.
• Face masks are mandatory for all donors to wear while visiting a donor centre or mobile drive at Traffic Light Red and Orange.
• PPE face masks are mandatory for all NZBS staff.
• Donor centres and mobile drives continue to be safe places to visit. NZBS is continuously reviewing its processes to ensure every possible precaution is taken to safeguard this.
• Booking an appointment helps NZBS manage the flow and social distancing of people in donor centres at any given time and allows NZBS to forecast supply, ensuring it is collecting enough blood types and blood products.
• If a donor needs to reschedule an appointment, please let NZBS know by calling ahead of time. This will allow time for the appointment slot to be re-booked.

For more information on donating blood during COVID, visit https://www.nzblood.co.nz/give-blood/covid-19-updates/. Or to book an appointment to donate visit www.nzblood.co.nz or call 0800 448 325.