SANBS launches Good Hood campaign to reach donors closer to home

The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) has launched the Good Hood campaign to bring blood donation to the people and reach donors within their communities.

Often seen as a time-consuming activity, the Good Hood campaign aims to bring community-minded individuals together at their residential complex or estate, to conveniently make their donations.

“The launch of the Good Hood campaign comes at a time when individuals are hunkering down at home to avoid increasing their risk of Covid-19 infection while donating blood. The campaign aims not only to make the donation process convenient but also addresses the misnomer that setting up a blood drive is admin intensive and requires lengthy management and planning,” said Nomthandazo Mosupye, SANBS senior manager of Marketing and Communication.

For the converted, blood donation is a no-brainer. Taking just 30 minutes in a donor centre is an easy way to save lives and give others a second chance at life.

The story is different for those who aren’t donors. Fear of needles and access to donor centres are common reasons people give for not giving blood.

SANBS wants to change that through the Good Hood campaign.

Not a revolutionary approach, as mobile blood drives are commonly set up in community spaces, but it certainly does tackle the challenge of people’s unwillingness to travel to donate.

SANBS also wants to give individuals in communities, who have always wanted to get involved in community work, an opportunity to make their contribution through blood donation.

The campaign is rooted in the concept of getting communities to band together to assist blood recipients who live among them in their neighbourhoods.

To recognise the generosity and selflessness of each participating community, SANBS would love to publicly acknowledge and celebrate each neighbourhood as a Good Hood.

“We want to appeal to everyone’s inclination towards civic responsibility, for this campaign to be successful,” Mosupye added.

“Being labelled a Good Hood will show others that blood donation does not just have to be an individual activity

– it can become a community and family activity too.

Through this campaign, SANBS intends to give recognition to the communities made up of individuals, who donate blood voluntarily to save lives.

The blood service urges everyone to band together and be a part of the life-saving movement.