Thin blue line adds to blood donations

A group of 16 road police have rolled up their sleeves to help our national blood service during the Covid-19 crisis.

Motorway patrol Sergeant Andy Meale was one of the Auckland police officers who took the time while off-duty yesterday to donate blood during the alert level 4 lockdown.

It was an initiative from his road policing colleagues, who all know too well the vital role blood can play saving lives after a crash.

The worst part of the job was having to tell someone that a family member had died, Meale said.

“It is a horrible job to go and knock on someone’s door and tell them they have lost someone close to them.”

The officers wanted to help because they knew there could be an impact on blood donations in later weeks as the country continues to respond to the global Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

“We thought it would be really good to just step up and do something to help the blood service maintain their supply,” Meale said.

“We wanted to make sure we were doing our bit.”

Every blood donation could save up to three lives in hospital, Meale said.

Among the group, constables Ben Heap and Anna Harkin donated blood for the first time.

The duo have some catching up to do if they want to equal the efforts of their colleague Senior Constable Eugene Burke — who has already been a blood donor for more than 25 years.

The police officers donated blood in two separate groups at the centre in Epsom, where — among other precautions — measures have been taken to ensure people are standing two metres apart.

New Zealand Blood Service national manager of marketing and communications Asuka Burge said the service was “immensely grateful” to all the healthy people who were continuing to donate blood.

— NZ Herald