World Blood Donor Day was celebrated on June 14.
In light of this, Harry the Hominid, who is the spokes-hominid for Maropeng, encouraged his fellow South Africans to continue donating blood.
“Every day, one out of seven people who goes to a hospital needs blood. That’s why it is important that as many people as possible donate blood. But you need to be over 16 years old, weigh more than 50kg and be a healthy person to donate,” he said.
Blood is made up of different parts that can be used to help people with different problems. The red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body, the platelets help the blood to clot, the white cells help fight infection and the plasma is the liquid that carries all the others and has salts and protein in it.
“Children, babies and adults need blood. Did you know that just three spoons of blood can help save a baby’s life? Sadly, we can’t keep donating blood forever and blood is in short supply. That is why it is so important to donate,” said Harry.
“So why not make a change this year and become a blood donor? If you are too young to donate, speak to your parents and encourage them to become donors. There are blood donation centres around the country and often shopping centres, schools and universities will have blood donation days. It only takes 20 minutes to donate and it is a safe process,” said Harry.
