He keeps on giving ... blood
Warren Chapman donated blood for the first time when he was 16 in exchange for a six-pack of beer.
Almost 40 years later, Chapman has donated about 170 litres of blood, enough to fill his body roughly 28 times.
The 55-year-old Christchurch man donated blood for the 346th time this week, making him the most generous blood donor in the South Island.
When he first gave blood as a teenager in Roslyn on the West Coast, some hotels offered free beer to encourage donations.
He continued to give blood because the satisfaction he got from donating was unlike anything else, he said. He planned to keep doing it until he could no longer physically do so.
‘‘It makes me feel very good and proud to be able to do this. I’d like to continue until I’ve done my time, if you know what I mean.’’
Despite the amount of blood he has given, a North Island resident has claimed the national record after donating for the 600th time.
‘‘They’re a bit older than me, but I plan to keep going so hopefully I’ll pass that point.’’
Chapman encouraged anybody to donate who was able to. ‘‘Just give it a try once. If it’s for you, you’ll get a great sense of pride. There’s no pain and there’s really nothing to worry about.’’
The New Zealand Blood Service is appealing for donors to join its ‘‘reserves bench’’, which calls on people from a donors list as their blood type is needed.
Donor relations co-ordinator Atawhai Te Hau said plasma donations were the most sought after.
‘‘We are always in need of blood and we appreciate our blood donors, but at the moment we are desperate for plasma,’’ Te Hau said.
Plasma was the ‘‘gold liquid’’ found in blood, she said.
Te Hau said young men were the ideal candidates for plasma donations because of the size and strength of their veins. Most plasma donors were asked to donate six to nine times a year.