Pat’s blood donation No 122 but it is coming to an end
Pat Smolenski has potentially saved as many as 363 lives in her 55 years giving blood.
The 74-year-old Timaru woman donated for the 122nd time during a blood drive at the Caroline Bay Tea Rooms on Wednesday.
‘‘I’m always happy to come down and do it,’’ she said.
When asked what had kept her donating for so long, her answer was ‘‘I just do’’.
‘‘We all need blood. You don’t know when you’ll need some or your family or friends will.’’
Smolenski, who has O-positive blood, expects to squeeze in three more donations before she is deemed too old on her 76th birthday.
Those aged over 71 need authorisation from a New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) medical officer to donate, so she felt ‘‘lucky’’ to still be healthy enough to do so.
‘‘It is sad it’s coming to an end,’’ she said.
‘‘There’s been lots of familiar faces over the years, and it doesn’t take long and it’s not sore or anything.’’
Smolenski became a donor in 1965 while working for the State Advances Office, now Ka¯inga Ora, in Dunedin.
‘‘There was a blood drive nearby and one of the bosses said anyone that wanted to go could, so half a dozen of us went – and the rest is history.’’
Since then, she had only taken a break from donating the two times she was pregnant.
Her 78-year-old husband had also been a donor, giving blood 111 times.
NZBS registered nurse Angela Kay, of Christchurch, said 65 people donated blood in Timaru on Tuesday and 85 yesterday – with the total number expected to hit 200 by the end of the drive today.
‘‘A whole blood unit can save three lives,’’ Kay said.
‘‘Each day, our target is 70 units and each unit is 470 millilitres.
‘‘Here in Timaru, there’s a local vibe where everyone knows somebody. After donating, a lot of people sit in the tea area and have a catchup.’’
Just 4 per cent of New Zealanders donated blood, she said.
The service hoped to start taking plasma donations in Timaru next year, with men aged 18 to 44 the ‘‘target market’’.
‘‘Men have a special protein which means they can donate fresh frozen plasma and cryoprecipitate,’’ Kay said.
Plasma was useful for massive transfusions, chemotherapy, and after car crashes.
‘‘It’s used in 11 different products, and they keep finding more ways they can use it.’’
Timaru’s next blood drive is July 28-30.