June is National Blood Donor Month.
To promote the importance of blood donation and attract new, young donors, the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) wants to temporarily “steal” a few letters from business names to raise awareness.
As part of the international “Missing Type” campaign, from June 11 to 18, the SANBS is requesting businesses, organisations and even the public to remove the letters A, B and O (symbolising blood types) from their names, logos and social media platforms.
According to the blood service, only one per cent of South Africans donates blood regularly.
“Imagine life without the letters A, B and O … let alone Scrabble!” said Silungile Mlambo, the SANBS’s chief marketing officer.
“Big business has the power to change the fact that our country faces constant blood shortages – and save lives at the same time.
“We’re asking local brands, sports teams, corporates and landmarks to tweak their logos and ‘donate’ their As, Bs and Os for just a week.”
According to Mlambo, deleting the letters of the main blood groups from your company’s name in your adverts, email signatures and other marketing material is a fun and interactive way to raise awareness of South Africa’s urgent need for new blood donors.
“It really is critical for the SANBS to replenish blood stocks at this time of year, with the school holidays just around the corner,” she said.
“This will inevitably cause a spike in the demand for blood transfusions.”
Also read: Residents support SANBS during Blood Donor Month
Mlambo added that sports teams will also be asked to throw their support behind the campaign, while the public can get involved by deleting the “blood types” from their names on social media.
“If you think about it, a South Africa without A, B and O would just be S_uth _fric_,” she said.
“It just wouldn’t be the same, however, with the help of the private sector and the public, we can fill in the blanks in our blood supply and keep stocks at healthy levels.”
Brakpan North residents Michelle (38) and Francois (40) Smit both regularly donate blood.
Michelle has donated 42 times and Francois 37.
“Health wise I feel good after I have donated blood and I encourage my friends and family to donate as well,” said Francois.
“It only takes a few minutes and by doing so lives can be saved.”
Michelle told the Herald she enjoys donating blood with her husband and they will keep on doing so for as long as they can.
The Brakpan Herald, and its sister publications, is supporting the “Missing Type” campaign as a Caxton Cares project.
Visit www.sanbs.org.za or call 0800 11 90 31 for more information or donate blood at the SANBS donor centre at Mall@Carnival.
Join the #MissingType conversation on Twitter (@theSANBS), Facebook (@SANBS) and Instagram (@thesanbs).
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