Blood donor response delights

Numbers of donors through the door during the NZ Blood drive exceeded expectations at the Queenstown Memorial Hall on Wednesday morning.

Kate Aitken, a registered nurse with NZB, organised the day's events and said she was delighted by the local turnout.

"We anticipated about 70 people and so far we've had 92 through the door. It's been a great response," Ms Aitken said.

The five-hour effort saw people from a variety of nationalities generously give their time and blood to NZB.

First-time donor Rafael Goettens noticed the proceedings while walking through town and decided to help a good cause.

"It wasn't that bad, actually. A wee bit of a sting, but it was cool enough seeing the blood come out," he said.

The Otago-Southland team used the NZB bus to travel throughout the region to organise donation events, Ms Aitken said.

"Yesterday, we were in Wanaka for five hours and today we're here in Queenstown. Next week, we'll be in Dunedin and then in Invercargill in three weeks' time. It's certainly a full-time job," she said.

Ms Aitken also urged people across New Zealand to visit the NZB website at www.nzblood.co.nz if they wanted to donate to NZB.