You can now register as a blood donor on Facebook

Facebook, in partnership with the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) and the Western Cape Blood Service (WCBS), announced a new partnership to encourage donors to donate blood.
As from May 18, South African donors on Facebook who are older than 18 will be able to sign up as a blood donor on this social media platform. They will be notified when blood drives are near them and they will be able to invite friends to sign up as well.
South Africa is the first African country in which Facebook has launched this feature. The initiative stems from the significant drop in blood donations in the country due to the national lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19, even though it is still safe to donate blood.
Facebook has partnered with blood donation centres around the world, with more than 60 million people who have signed up to be donors.
Commenting on the partnerships, Nunu Ntshingila (regional director of Facebook Africa) said: “We continue to remain committed to building safe and supportive communities on Facebook during these difficult times. We want to make it easy to connect people who want to donate with opportunities to give, while learning about the blood donation opportunities near them and inspiring action. This is an important partnership with the SANBS and the Western Cape Blood Service, and one which we believe will make a positive difference to blood giving here in South Africa.”
Silungile Mlambo (SANBS chief marketing officer) added: “We face a number of challenges with regard to the collection of blood each year. This year, the pandemic brought us a new challenge. We are hopeful that through this tool, we will have better reach to all our donors. This will revolutionise the way we connect with our donors, allowing us to work smarter and optimise our resources.”
How it works
Donors between the age of 18 and 65 residing in South Africa can sign up to be a blood donor on Facebook by going to Blood Donations in the About section of your profile, or access the link: facebook.com/donateblood. Donors will be able to see requests and opportunities to donate on Blood Donations on Facebook on their mobile devices to over 80 blood donation sites. SANBS supplies over one million blood products annually and is rated among the top blood services in the world. The next blood drive will be on the following date:
May 30 at Pnp from 9am until 1pm. Blood levels are still low and the SANBS pleads with the residents of Vryheid to continue their loyal donations of blood during level 4 of the national lockdown.

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