Young Edenvale resident steps up to the call for blood donations

As a member of the Third Kensington Sea Scout Troop, Caitlynn is no stranger to hard work and giving back where she can, so when faced with the opportunity she rose to the challenge.

Edenvale resident Caitlynn Switala recently organised a blood donation drive that attracted 30 donors.

The 16-year-old hosted the drive at the start of November after reading several articles in the NEWS, calling on donors to donate blood to the SANBS.

As a member of the Third Kensington Sea Scout Troop, Caitlynn is no stranger to hard work and giving back where she can, so when faced with the opportunity she rose to the challenge.

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Caitlynn said what makes this initiative so important is the fact that the shortage of blood stocks the SANBS is facing affects people like her grandmother.

“My grandmother needs blood transfusions and during one of her recent hospital visits hey didn’t have her blood type. She had to wait several days to receive the transfusion.”

The Jeppe High School for Girls learner held the drive at the Linksfield Terrace blood blank.

“I was expecting maybe 10 people to show up but when I heard that we had attracted three times that number I was so happy.”

Caitlynn said the representatives from SANBS were just as excited to see so many donors arrive.

Caitlynn said she distributed the invites mainly among her scout troop and neighbouring scout troops, encouraging those old enough to get involved.

“The weekend meant a lot to me; it was really special to see everyone get involved and also see family members I hadn’t seen for a while.”

Although Caitlynn had planned to be involved in the donation, she was unable to donate on the day.

She was recently diagnosed with epilepsy which means she cannot donate any blood.

When Caitlynn is not working with the community, she enjoys swimming and taking part in scouting events.

Caitlynn was first involved with the First Edenvale Scout Troop when she started as a scout at the age of 10, but moved to Third Kensington so that she could make time for other activities.

The youngster would like to host a blood donation drive annually.

Visit www.sanbs.org.za

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