The New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) hopes that more people will donate blood after restrictions against people who lived in countries affected by mad cow disease were dropped today.
The restrictions previously applied to those who lived in the UK, France, or the Republic of Ireland for at least six months between 1980 and 1996.
NZBS chief executive Samantha Cliffe said the removal of the ban was a "really important step" that had been planned for a number of years.
An estimated 8-10% of the population were ineligible for donation under the restrictions, challenging given the need for donations have climbed in the last five to 10 years.
"It's really been ratcheting up, so to be able to get back a portion of donors is just fabulous."
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is a prion disease that leads to dementia and death primarily caused by infected beef, hence the moniker "mad cow disease".
NZBS chief medical officer Sarah Morley said that New Zealand never had a case of vCJD here.
"Because there were worries about the potential it could affect blood donation and the safety of donation, we put this restriction in place."
The US and Australia dropped similar restrictions two years ago, and New Zealand's blood service teamed up with the University of New South Wales to do the same.
"What that work showed us is that the risk is really negligible, it's virtually nil, and that's really important for us," said Morley.
Blood donator Mandy O'Neill made her first donation in "about 17-18 years" today.
"You never know when you're going to be in a situation where you're gonna need it yourself, so it's nice to be able to do that for other people.
"It's a wonderful thing to do, to donate, it gives a real sense that you are giving something back."
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