Healthy people still encouraged to donate blood

CRAIGHALL – Sanbs reassures the public that they are following guidelines set out by the NICD.

March 22, 2020

Sarah Koning 1 minute read

The South African National Blood Service (Sanbs) encourages healthy residents to continue to donate blood.

In a statement released by Sanbs, they said in the midst of Coronavirus outbreak, this challenging time calls for all of us to unite in the drive to keep our nation healthy by supporting government and the National Institute for Disease Communicable Diseases (NICD).

The medical director of Sanbs Dr Jackie Thomson said, “It is important to know that there is presently no evidence that supports that COVID-19 can be transmitted through blood. Blood cells lack the binding sites required by COVID-19. Diagnostic tests for COVID-19 are not done on blood but on throat swabs and sputum samples.”

Sanbs reassures the public that they are closely following guidelines set out by the NICD which promote healthy personal hygiene practices both in offices and at fixed and mobile donor centres.

They encourage everyone to take the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of fellow citizens.

“If you are feeling unwell or exhibiting any clinical symptoms of infection (fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat and shortness of breath) you are encouraged to delay donation until you are in good health,” said the statement.

Sanbs has also set out the following precautionary measures to ensure the safety of blood and blood products:

People who have travelled to affected countries outside South Africa will be deferred for 21 days
People with confirmed cases of Coronavirus infection will be deferred for 28 days from the date of complete clearance of symptoms
People who have been in close contact with confirmed or probable Coronavirus cases will be deferred for 21 days from the last date of contact.

Donor centres remain operational across the country.

Visit the donor centre at 349 Jan Smuts Avenue, Craighall between 10am and 5pm during weekdays or between 9am and 1pm on Saturdays or call 011 447 6665 for more information.

If you feel you are at risk or fear that you may be infected with COVID-19, urgently contact the toll-free NICD hotline on 080 002 9999.

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