Two of New Zealand's most prolific blood donors have reached a new milestone.
Paul Tomlin, 66, and Garry Cunningham, 63, have completed a combined 1100 donations between them.
Both men booked in appointments yesterday at the Epsom Donor Centre in Auckland to mark the occasion.
Paul is the country's number one blood donor, with 667 donations to his name, while Garry is ranked tenth, with 433.
They first donated blood when they were teenagers, but they only met for the first time a fortnight ago, when they were donating plasma at the same time.
They're urging eligible Kiwis to donate.
“It doesn't cost you anything," Garry said.
"Everybody goes to a café and has a cup of coffee. Come here and have your cup of coffee, and donate blood at the same time...it's a win-win."
Paul comes every two weeks on the dot to donate plasma.
Asked why, he said "just because I could. No real reason, its just become a habit, like getting up and going to work."
The New Zealand Blood Service is expecting a 4% increase in demand this summer, compared to the period last year.
"We're not sure exactly what the drivers are, but obviously an ageing population, lots of conditions that need blood to help with the treatment, and blood is not just life saving, but it's life giving, so in some cases, it's people who need it regularly, as opposed to just a one-off after an accident," national marketing and communications manager Asuka Burge said.
The New Zealand Blood Service has more than 25,000 available appointments to donate blood and plasma between now and December 23.
Last year, 53,537 units of blood, plasma and platelets were issued across Aotearoa over summer.
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