Not every hopeful doctor can claim they've already saved a life, but in Erin Knox's case, she may have already done just that.
Erin, in her final year at Otago Girls' High School, has dreams of helping others and will study medicine next year.
But the 17-year-old has already made a start in helping others by donating blood.
"I enjoy helping people and want to incorporate that into my career," she said.
Erin and her mother, Margaret, were brought to the Dunedin Donor Centre to give blood earlier this year by her father, Ray.
It was Ray's fifth donation after he was encouraged to do so by a friend, Jamie, who encouraged others in his running.
"It was something I always wanted to do because my mother did it, but I never got around to it, so when he [Jamie] had that sheet I put my name down," Ray Knox said.
The Dunedin family are speaking out during the New Zealand Blood Service's annual donor drive - called 'Know Your Type' - to encourage others to give blood.
Erin was inspired by her father giving blood initially but had to wait a year to do so as she was too young.
New donors can start donating blood from their 16th birthday and weight 50kg or over. If you are a first time donor under 25, you must also meet the height and weight criteria.
"I thought it was great and I wanted to do it too but I was too young at that point," Erin said.
Her mother donated for the first time when her daughter did.
"Erin and I don't have a blood type that people need a lot of, so we've got B+ blood and only a small percentage of the population has the blood," Margaret Knox said.
Ray Knox has the most common blood type in New Zealand, O+, and said you never know who might need your blood.
"Someday someone you know might need it and there's always people needing it, so if you can do it why not?"
Each year the service needs to recruit 20,000 new donors in order to replace those who exit the list due to a variety of reasons; including illness, travel to some countries where the presence of tropical diseases leads to a mandatory stand-down, retirement or personal choice.
About 50% New Zealanders don't know what their blood type is.
The decision can be a life-saving one - with blood donations saving and improving the lives of about 27,000 people a year in New Zealand - and the process only takes five minutes in total.
"We never take the commitment of our amazing donors for granted," New Zealand Blood Service's marketing manager Asuka Burge said.
"Taking five minutes out of your day to find out your blood type and sign up to become a blood donor could mean the difference between life and death for someone. Every whole blood donation has the potential to save three lives.
"We think that's three great reasons to become a blood donor."
KNOW YOUR TYPE - AND SAVE A LIFE
The New Zealand Blood Service is running a series of 'Know Your Type' events this week allowing people to find out what type of blood they have and become a donor.
All you have to do is come down to an event, find out if you meet the donor eligibility criteria, and one of the Blood Service's staff will test your blood through a quick finger prick. Within a couple of minutes, you'll know your type and you can register to donate.
Preference for blood typing will be given to those who meet the donor eligibility criteria which can be found on www.nzblood.co.nz
Remaining events include: Dunedin at the Meridian Mall on Thursday and Christchurch - The Blood Donor Centre, 15 Lester Lane, until Friday, and the Cashel Street Mall on Friday.
NZME is the official media partner of the New Zealand Blood Service's 2017 campaign
