---
title: "Record 25,000 New Zealanders donated plasma in the past year, blood service reports"
canonical: https://smallgoodthings.org/stories/new-zealand-blood-donation-2026-b4/
sourceName: "New Zealand Blood Service"
sourceUrl: "https://community.scoop.co.nz/2026/06/record-plasma-donor-numbers-not-enough-to-meet-growing-demand-4000-new-donors-needed-in-next-12-months/"
datePublished: 2026-06-10
---

# Record 25,000 New Zealanders donated plasma in the past year, blood service reports

New Zealand Blood Service reported more than 25,000 New Zealanders donated plasma in the past year, the highest number ever recorded, announced during National Blood Donor Week (8-14 June 2026). Despite the record, NZBS said it still needs to recruit 4,000 more donors over the next 12 months to meet growing demand, with only around 4% of eligible New Zealanders currently donating.

## What is the background?
Blood and plasma products cannot be manufactured — every unit used in a New Zealand hospital comes from a volunteer donor. **Blood donation New Zealand** campaigns track both how many people give and whether that keeps pace with rising clinical demand.

## What happened?
New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) announced during National Blood Donor Week, 8-14 June 2026, that more than 25,000 New Zealanders donated plasma in the past year — the highest number ever recorded. NZBS Chief Executive Sam Cliffe confirmed the milestone alongside the announcement.

Despite the record, NZBS said demand for both plasma and whole blood continues to outpace supply, and the service needs to recruit another 4,000 donors over the next 12 months to meet growing demand for lifesaving blood and plasma products.

## How did it happen?
In February 2026, NZBS launched a mobile plasma collection bus travelling across the central North Island, expected to collect around 115 plasma donations a week and lift national plasma collections by roughly 4%. Taking collection directly to communities, rather than requiring donors to travel to a fixed centre, is part of how NZBS is working to close the gap between record donor numbers and still-rising demand.

Whole blood donor numbers have declined even as plasma donation set a record, placing pressure on existing donors to give more frequently to maintain stock levels — a pattern that means a record year for one product type doesn't guarantee the overall system is keeping pace.

## Why does it matter?
Research cited by NZBS found 88% of New Zealanders believe donating blood and plasma is good for society, and 76% think it's an easy thing to do — yet only around 4% of eligible New Zealanders actually donate. That gap between stated support and actual participation is exactly what campaigns like National Blood Donor Week and the mobile plasma bus are designed to close.

A record year that still falls short of demand is a useful, honest signal: it shows real growth in participation while making clear that growth alone hasn't solved the underlying supply challenge.

## What were the key results?
- More than 25,000 New Zealanders donated plasma in the past year — an all-time record
- Announcement made during National Blood Donor Week, 8-14 June 2026
- NZBS needs to recruit 4,000 more donors over the next 12 months
- Only around 4% of eligible New Zealanders currently donate blood or plasma
- 88% of New Zealanders believe donation is good for society; 76% find it easy
- Mobile plasma bus launched February 2026, collecting ~115 donations weekly across the central North Island
- Whole blood donor numbers declining even as plasma donations hit a record

## What happens next?
NZBS plans to continue the mobile plasma bus route and evaluate expanding it to other regions.

The service said it will keep tracking whether the 4,000-donor recruitment target is met over the coming 12 months.

NZBS is expected to run further donor recruitment campaigns aimed at closing the gap between public support for donation and actual participation.

The service said whole blood donor recruitment will remain a parallel priority alongside the plasma donation push.

Primary source: [New Zealand Blood Service](https://community.scoop.co.nz/2026/06/record-plasma-donor-numbers-not-enough-to-meet-growing-demand-4000-new-donors-needed-in-next-12-months/)