Potential eligible donors in Dunedin make up 7% of New Zealand's total eligible population, yet only 2.7% of people who could donate actually do so, the service's latest donor statistics show.
Nationally, 1957 new donors are needed each month to keep up with the constant demand for blood and blood products.
''We're urging Dunedin locals to rise to the challenge and lend an arm,'' NZ Blood Service national marketing and communications manager Asuka Burge said.
Due to a variety of factors such as ill health, retirement, or personal choice, the Blood Service in Dunedin [which covers all of Otago and Southland] loses an average of 87.5 donors each month. There are 8095 active donors in Otago and Southland.
''We constantly need to recruit new donors to fill this gap,'' Ms Burge said.
Dunedin-based donor recruitment co-ordinator Leita Mackay said although the loss of donors nationally was a major concern, the Dunedin-based Otago-Southland service retained a ''very strong and loyal base''.
''However, we also face challenges with our ageing population and difficulties around people's work situations,'' Mrs Mackay said.
''In many workplaces, there is not the same freedom to take time off to donate blood as there used to be,'' she said.
In recent years there had been a shift in the need for blood products, with an international drop in demand for red blood cells offset by an increasing need for more plasma.
''It is truly amazing what they can make out of plasma - from Factor VIII for haemophiliacs to treatment for people with severe immune deficiencies,'' Mrs Mackay said.
''We call it `liquid gold'.''
The continuing rise in demand for blood products manufactured from plasma means another 3000 plasma donors are needed to join the existing 4688 regular plasma donors across the country.
''New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world which is self-sufficient for blood products - and we really want to keep it that way,'' she said.
''The rise in demand has meant the number of plasma donations we need to collect each week in Dunedin has risen threefold to 87, and that will increase shortly to 97 per week,'' Mrs Mackay said.
Because of the cost and delicacy of the specialised machines that were used for plasma donation, these could only be taken at the Dunedin clinic and not by the mobile collection unit, she said.
There were eligibility requirements for people to become plasma donors, but it was very rewarding, Mrs Mackay said.
For more information about becoming a whole blood or plasma donor, phone the NZ Blood Service on 0800 GIVE BLOOD or visit www.nzblood.co.nz
