Still as good as gold after 50th donation
The Dunedin medical laboratory scientist gave plasma for the 50th time, and decided to meet the person his "liquid gold" goes to.
"It's actually painless to me," Mr Taylor said about the process of giving plasma, which he began doing during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I don't feel anything when I'm actually doing a donation ... because doing plasma, I'm not actually losing any of my cells.
"So as far as energy levels and things like that, I'm actually pretty good. So it's actually a very easy thing to do."
He was aware he was donating his plasma to Naseby publican Adrian Hood, who is receiving treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and needed plasma products, but yesterday was the first time the pair had met.
"It's just been awesome that there are people out there like Terry — the treatment, the energy that these people put out on a day-by-day basis, it's just phenomenal. I mean, it's a real gift."
Mr Hood said his visits to Dunedin and occasionally Christchurch for treatment had become increasingly frequent.
Cancer patient Adrian Hood looks on as Terry Taylor makes his 50th plasma donation. Also enjoying the occasion are (second from left) New Zealand Blood Service haematologist Annette Neylon and Mr Hood's partner, Jan Rutherford. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY
He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on Christmas Eve.
"I'm 62, and just as I thought my life was winding down, it started to wind up.
"I'm still getting my head around my new itinerary. It's obviously been a shock for my family and everyone."
Mr Taylor said he knew of the benefits of giving plasma, but actually seeing who it benefited made yesterday immensely satisfying.
"I think that's a really important aspect. We often forget about the other side of healthcare."
New Zealand Blood Service haematologist Annette Neylon said there was an increasing need for donations — about 5000 per week in New Zealand across whole blood and plasma.
"I think it's a lot easier than some people expect. Come along, we need at least 4000 new donors in the coming years — about 20% of our donors are over the age of 65.
"So we need to make sure that the younger generation are also becoming blood donors as we go forward as well."
matthew.littlewood@odt.co.nz
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
10 hours ago
- 1News
Why this Auckland doctor walks home in his scrubs
A Māori health expert believes that visible success and local government action are key to shifting youth aspirations and addressing the root causes of poor health outcomes in South Auckland. Dr Timoti Te Moke has experienced the power of walking home in his scrubs from Middlemore Hospital, a deliberate act meant to normalise brown excellence and show that Māori and Pacific doctors exist. Without them, he says, people see him as 'everyone else…doing it hard' and mistakenly identify him as a cleaner rather than a successful doctor. He shares his story as a testament to what South Auckland residents can achieve despite the challenges they face. Te Moke says local government has a role in supporting such role models. ADVERTISEMENT '…people in South Auckland need to see a brown skin doctor and they need to see it really, really often. So often that it's like it's just in their head that, yeah, that's just part of what we do,' he says. Te Moke recalls an encounter when he got off the bus near Hunter's Corner and noticed an eight-year-old boy staring at him from his bike. 'We walked past each other, and he goes, 'Hey, bro.' …because he's an eight-year-old boy looking to aspire to something. And a thousand times more often, he would see a gang patch. 'By the time he turns 15 or 16, if that's all he's seen, that's what he'll aspire to be. But if he sees a doctor all the time, he might go, 'I'm going to become a doctor',' he says. Beyond personal success Te Moke grew up in Māngere and is set to speak at a sold-out event at Māngere Library later this month as part of the Auckland Council's We Read Auckland series. His recently released memoir, which topped the New Zealand bestseller list, recounts his journey from a violent gang environment to medical school and explains why he has chosen to remain in South Auckland instead of moving to a more 'flash' suburb. ADVERTISEMENT 'I could go and live somewhere else, but I don't,' Te Moke says. 'I stay in a building complex with my own people because success needs to be visible in the community. That's the only way it can break cycles.' For him, the book is not about financial reward but about making an impact. 'I had no interest in financial reward. The plan is to convince the Office of the Ombudsman to recommend the book goes into prisons and rehabs. That's where it will have the most benefit, the most impact with people who find it hardest to get hold of a copy,' he says. Dr Timoti Te Moke's best-selling book, which he hopes to see in prisons to inspire change. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting) 'I've decided to give 15 per cent to helping Māori who are in my circumstances, helping through… 15 per cent goes to non-Māori suffering from those negative social determinants… 15 per cent goes to the people of Palestine… I'm giving away virtually half of what I'm making. And I believe that that's what it should be done. And that's what I can do with my book.' Systemic barriers linked to local decisions At Middlemore Hospital, Te Moke sees the human cost of systemic issues daily - patients in Emergency Department queues unable to afford GP visits, returning to overcrowded, cold homes, and eventually bringing their whole whānau back to the hospital. ADVERTISEMENT 'You've got the government making it hard on local councils, then councils raising rates, and that flows straight to renters,' he says. 'Most of us are renters. That's …easier for employers… to not pay their employees as much as they should… We're being hit from both ends.' He argues that national and local policies must align on housing, access to healthy food, education, and employment to improve health outcomes. Council-backed platforms matter Louisa Tipene Opetaia, local business owner and communications specialist, will chair the library event. She believes Te Moke's story represents an important type of success for the community to celebrate. 'Dr Te Moke is such an impressive person and I'm really honoured that I get to kōrero with him about his extraordinary life,' she says. 'We know about our athletes and musicians, but to have a doctor who is also an author is important to show different kinds of success.' She says that events like this can directly impact on South Auckland audiences, especially young people. 'Dr Te Moke's message to young people is very important, that they should aim high and that they are capable of achieving success,' she says. 'Although we had very different upbringings and we're coming at this event from different perspectives, our kaupapa is aligned. ADVERTISEMENT 'We hope this event will uplift our community and encourage our rangatahi to use their gifts and live their own glorious lives.' She emphasises the significance of the event being free, council-funded, and held locally, making it more accessible. 'I might never have learned about him or read his book if not for this free event being held in our community,' she says. 'It is so important for our people to see someone like us, who comes from where we come from, living his best life. His is a story worth celebrating.' Local board support for visible role models Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board chair Apulu Reece Autagavaia underscores the powerful symbolism of Te Moke's choice to wear scrubs in public. 'We're fully supportive of having Māori and Pacific excellence displayed in our public spaces,' he says. 'Just like Dr Timoti wears his scrubs to normalise brown excellence, I wear my 'ie faitaga in the boardroom to show that we can be proud of who we are in any space.' Funding, visibility, and grassroots action ADVERTISEMENT Community advocate and founder of The BBM Program, Dave Letele, says it is 'very important' for rangatahi to regularly see role models who look like them and come from similar backgrounds. 'You can have nice stuff without being a drug dealer or bank robber,' Letele says. 'That's why it's very important that those who make it out come back to help others.' When discussing whether council-funded community events and programmes can make a tangible difference in shaping youth aspirations, Letele is cautious. 'I don't think so. I would rather see this funding go to community groups working with youth in need. Support their events. Support their mahi.' Dr Timoti Te Moke, South Auckland doctor who works at both Middlemore and Auckland hospitals. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting) He believes that more grassroots support is needed. 'Invest in highlighting the work being done and those doing well.' From his work with whānau, Letele observes the same links Te Moke identifies between housing, food insecurity, and poor health outcomes. ADVERTISEMENT 'One thousand per cent,' he says. 'Look at the Māori or Pacific health models, Te Whare Tapa Whā or Fonofale. Health is having all the pillars standing strong. Too often, we don't have access to warm housing, and food insecurity is very real for Pasifika families. It's no surprise we are overrepresented in almost all the bad stats.' On how local government can help prevent young people from aspiring to negative role models, he is direct. 'It all comes down to supporting the groups that are doing the mahi with next to no resources. Help them to do the mahi, and don't make them fit into the system that works for the council. What they do works, just support them and get out of the way.' Auckland Council approach Auckland Council reading engagement specialist, Ineka Vogels, says We Read Auckland is designed to celebrate local talent and make literature accessible to all. 'The purpose of We Read Auckland is to foster a shared love of reading and writing across the diverse communities of Tāmaki Makaurau,' she says. 'Representation and lived experience are top priority in our hyper-local programming model.' ADVERTISEMENT She says libraries strive for a good regional spread of events to ensure communities can access workshops and author talks nearby, with all events being free. 'We look for stories that are uniquely 'Auckland' and offer fresh voices and perspectives,' she says. 'It's about creating opportunities, whether it's a budding writer attending a workshop or a long-time fan seeing one of their favourite authors speak. Our libraries bring literature to life in new ways.' Call to action for change Te Moke believes the next step involves turning personal empowerment into influence at the ballot box. 'What's preventing me from realising that potential are the barriers that are put in front of me, and the barriers are being put in front of me by these people that are in power,' he says. 'The way to start getting rid of those barriers right at the beginning is getting them out of power. The way I do that is utilising my vote.' He says everyone in South Auckland has potential, but that potential cannot be realised until those barriers are removed. 'Everyone has the potential in South Auckland,' Te Moke says, 'but people are prevented from realising our potential because of the negative social determinants we are born into.'
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Rethink of quit smoking approach
Tips on how to stop smoking, alongside the usual images of cancer-ridden organs on cigarette packaging, may help New Zealand's remaining smokers to quit. University of Otago Aspire Aotearoa Research Centre co-director Prof Janet Hoek said the graphic warning labels had played an important role in reducing smoking's appeal to young people, and helped reduce overall smoking rates. However, those who continued to smoke may be doing it because they feel "alienated, judged, and disempowered". A new University of Otago study shows the introduction of positive messages that complement the graphic warning labels could help smokers feel more confident about achieving the challenge. "Adding positive messages and tips on quitting could complement the harsh depictions of smoking's harms shown in graphic images, reduce the negative judgement people who smoke feel, and foster the confidence and the resilience people need to quit for good," she said. The researchers asked 27 roll-your-own smokers from Dunedin and Wellington, aged 18 and over, for their views on warning labels on tobacco packaging, and on adding positive messages like tips on how to quit. Lead researcher and University of Otago Burden of Disease Epidemiology, Equity and Cost-Effectiveness Programme research manager Lani Teddy said study participants felt including positive information alongside graphic warnings would inspire hope, and give them more confidence to embark on a journey to quit smoking. One participant said smokers needed to have hope in order to make the change. "If you want to quit smoking and you don't have hope, you have no chance." Another said positive messaging on cigarette packaging would contrast the confronting images of diseased body organs, used on tobacco packs to illustrate the harms of smoking. They associated the images with a "constant battering" of "don't do this, don't do that". While study participants did not expect positive messaging to galvanise smoking cessation, they believed "being a little bit gentler" with the messaging could increase the attention paid to information on tobacco packaging. Ms Teddy said the positive labels reminded people of what they could gain by quitting, rather than leaving them with the shock aroused by the fear-inducing pictorial labels. Canada and Australia have already made it mandatory for tobacco manufacturers to include package inserts, containing positive tips and advice on quitting smoking.
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
Five Times More Māori Nurses Needed To Reflect Population
Aotearoa New Zealand needs five times more Māori nurses if the workforce is to reflect the Māori population and be able to provide culturally safe health care, a new report shows. The report "Growing, but not fast enough: Māori nursing workforce insights" was written by economic consultancy company Infometrics and released at the Indigenous Nurses Aotearoa Conference in Rotorua tomorrow - Thursday - when about 300 Māori nurses from throughout the country gather. Te Rūnanga o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says the report shows Aotearoa New Zealand needs about 1,350 more Māori nurses a year for the next decade to achieve population parity. "That would mean increasing the number of Māori nurses entering the workforce from the current 300 a year to almost 1,650 - a five-fold increase. "This is an intense number and shows the intense need we have to ensure Māori get the culturally safe and appropriate nursing they need. Research shows culturally safe nursing is key to achieving better outcomes for Māori. "Health leaders, Māori leaders, academics, economists and the media have been asking what an effective Māori nursing workforce would look like. Now, thanks to this report, we know," she says. "What better place to highlight this need, the economics of Māori nursing, at the country's largest gathering of Māori nurses. "I'm so concerned about the future of Māori health - this country's health. These numbers are so intense and would appear like mission impossible under this Government. But it is our duty to call for what is best for the health of our people," Kerri Nuku says. Currently Māori make up 18% of the New Zealand population but only 7.4 per cent of the nursing workforce and Māori are dying seven years lower than non-Māori, the report found. About 27,000 Māori enrolments in nursing training were needed as less than two-thirds of Māori nurse trainees complete their qualification, it found. In 2023, a total of 3,230 students enrolled in registered nurse training but only 435 of them were Māori. "The report also confirms for us what we've always known - Māori nurses are more likely to help keep Māori out of hospital by identifying the risk of preventable illnesses, enabling early intervention and saving the health system money," Kerri Nuku says. The report also suggests numbers needed for a 20-to-30-year timeframe and workforce policy commitment. This year's annual conference theme is Mauri oro, mauri reo, mauri ora which speaks to a return to vibration, voice and wellbeing through the lens of mātauranga Māori. The prestigious Akenehi Hei award will be presented on Friday morning while the Tapuhi Kaitiaki Awards - the Māori nurse awards - will be presented that evening.
