We congratulate Dr Peter Flanagan, a past ANZSBT President, Ruth Sanger Orator and Honorary Life Member of ANZSBT on being awarded an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in New Zealand’s 2023 Kings Birthday Honours list.
This award is in recognition of Peter’s services to blood transfusion and is an appropriate recognition for Peter’s stellar contribution to Transfusion Medicine both in New Zealand and internationally.
Dr Peter Flanagan
Dr Peter Flanagan was National Medical Director of the New Zealand Blood Service from its establishment in 1998 until 2019.
Dr Flanagan played a pivotal part in improving the New Zealand Blood Service to the point where it is now recognised as one of the best models in the world. He has supported and informed the Ministry of Health on policy related to blood transfusion safety and was closely involved in the transition of 21 hospital-based blood services into four regional production centres and an integrated hospital blood bank network. He is an Honorary Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology at the University of Auckland. He has been a member of the World Health Organisation Expert Advisory Panel on Transfusion Medicine since 2009 and a member of Expert Committees in the Council of Europe. He is an Honorary Member of the International Society of Blood Transfusion having served as President and Chair of the Standing Committee on Ethics, where he led a comprehensive review of the Society’s Code of Ethics. Dr Flanagan is a Life Member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion and in 2017 gave the Ruth Sanger Oration, the Society’s highest honour.