To honour Women’s Month, donate blood and save a mother

EACH day, nearly 800 women die from pregnancy-related complications worldwide. Currently, 27 per cent of maternal deaths are a result of severe bleeding during labour. Among the causes responsible for 75 per cent of deaths, highlighted by the World Health Organisation, haemorrhage at birth is ranked second. Pre-existing medical conditions aggravated by pregnancy, such as diabetes, malaria, HIV and obesity, are first on the list.

In Africa, haemorrhage during pregnancy kills 34 per cent of mothers, and although maternal mortality rates dropped by 50 per cent between 1990 and 2013 in sub-Saharan Africa, more work can be done to further reduce the number of mothers dying.

In 2010 the South African National Blood Service reported that obstetrics and gynaecology cases used 26 per cent of its total blood supply for that year. Other medical cases, such as anaemia, accounted for 27 per cent of blood used.

“Most maternal mortality is preventable and blood transfusions could mean the difference between life and death for many bleeding mothers,” said SANBS communications manager, Vanessa Raju.

Sister Denise Govender from the Pinecrest SANBS clinic said, “The month of August has been slow, but we are hopeful that more donors will be coming through.”

SANBS collects about 3 000 units of blood daily and it is committed to continue with raising awareness about the need for blood to make sure fewer South African mothers bleed to death.

Blessing Nsele, a frequent donor, said, “It is painful that the givers of life could die because of blood shortages, and that is why I have come to donate today to prevent anyone from dying.”

To honour Women’s Month, SANBS encourages South Africans to become donors and ensure that more newborns grow up with their mothers. For more information on how to become a donor, visit the website – https://www.sanbs.org.za/, or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/SANBS.