Give blood in New Zealand

blood donation

A quick post.

Today I went to donate my blood for the first time in New Zealand. I donated blood before in Italy and in Germany.

It takes 30 minutes top, and you eat and drink for free afterwards. And you help other people. My blood type is 0 negative, and I know my contribution matters.

If you are in New Zealand, and you are not a kiwi, you can donate. No problem. You can look at all the information in the NZ Blood website.

When I did my test for the immigration, a guy at the White Cross told me I couldn’t donate my blood here in New Zealand because “we don’t accept foreign blood”. My first reaction was a big WHAT THE FUCK!. I believed the guy (he was a nurse after all) before discovering that it’s not true. I don’t want even think why he said that stupid thing.

My message here is: if you can, go and donate. You meet a lot of people, people who donate for the first time, people who are doing this since years, people who are afraid, people who are not. It’s a whole new world. It takes few minutes of your life every 3 months, and some of your blood (half a liter). Go for it, because your blood is needed.

If you are afraid, well…it’s a good exercise to look the fear in the eye and let it understand who is in charge: YOU.

There is no excuse. Go and donate. You are doing something important.