One of New Zealand’s most frequent blood donors is encouraging more Māori to get involved in donating blood.
Koro Amai (Rongomawahine, Rakaipaaka, Ngāti te Ipu, Tuhoe) has donated more than 300 times over 30 years and his journey began because of his wife Ange who is dependent on blood transfusions.
“Seven children is what we have [my wife] Ange and I. Being o- and I’m a B+ and what that means two blood groups that actually fight against each other.
“What actually needs to happen is that Ange has to have blood transfusions each time. Seven times.”
As a frequent donor, Amai enjoys meeting other donors and giving back to the community.
“It’s about others as well. I can give back a little bit. That’s why I do it, and plus I do enjoy it. I’ve been doing it for a long time. You meet other people, even a lot of people that I don’t know, but you’ve got to know if you’ve been a donor.
“The most important out of all of them, Is that? Why wouldn’t I do it? I can do it, I’m able to do it and fit and healthy, and I’m probably the most important thing for me is I would hate to think that someone’s someone’s life. Somebody’s child, daughter, son, or moko would be in jeopardy if they didn’t have access to other whole blood.”
Underrepresentation in donation
He said Māori are underrepresented when it comes to donating, and overrepresented when it comes to receiving blood.
“I’m passionate about the quality of life in all groups but obviously being Māori, especially for Māori in New Zealand Aotearoa. There’s only 4% that are active donors. So you’re looking at about 120,000 and of that 120,000 there’s only about 10% of that figure that are actually Māori.
“However, when it comes to the other side when it comes to receiving the blood plasma old platelets the size is actually a lot larger.”
To understand if you’re eligible to donate blood, more information is available here.
