Blood donors wanted
A stranger’s selfless act transformed Leigh Wallace from a drained shell to feeling like a superhero.
The Sandringham woman had struggled with anaemia for more than a year before being rushed to hospital with a dangerously low haemoglobin level.
She needed three pints (1500ml) of blood. Wallace says she can’t thank blood donors enough.
‘‘I hate to think of what would have happened if I had waited just a little bit longer.
‘‘It really did change my she says.
‘‘I was at quite a high risk of having a heart attack because the blood wasn’t pumping through properly.
‘‘I didn’t really take it seriously until I got to hospital and the nurses said: ‘ you don’t know how lucky you are’.’’
The New Zealand Blood Service is celebrating World Blood Donor Day with a mobile blood drive at the Auckland Town Hall on Friday, June 12.
It needs to collect 3000 donations each week to meet medical demands and must work continuously to renew its donor database at a rate of more than 17,000 people per year.
Wallace’s Mt Wellington workplace organises regular blood donations.
Tru-Test Group site manager Neil Thomas says the company has been committed to giving blood for the last 30 years.
It now teams up with neighbouring Coca-Cola Amatil New Zealand’s national contact centre and there were 88 donors at its last drive.
life,’’
West Harbour resident Jade Williams was one of those who stepped up for the cause.
‘‘For me it was really simple – just jump on the chair, have a bit of a relax and then afterwards have some biscuits. There’s just nothing to it really.
She says it’s an easy process for something that could save a life.
To give blood on Friday, go to the Auckland Town Hall’s Council Chambers, 301 Queen St between 9am and 2pm.