Do your part to save lives – every drop of blood counts
SANBS commemorates Blood Donor Day.
The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) is commemorating World Blood Donor Day.
World Blood Donor Day takes place globally on 14 June. This year’s theme is Blood Connects us All.
South Africa has maintained a high degree of blood safety and reliable supply of blood countrywide.
South Africa follows key recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on good blood service management which includes reliance on unpaid voluntary donors, universal testing of donated blood and the reduction of unnecessary transfusions.
WHO key recommendations that South Africa adheres to:
- South Africa is one of 65 countries in the world that gets all of its blood from voluntary donors. By 2020, the WHO wants all countries to adopt this model.
- SANBS works closely with healthcare workers who do transfusions to create awareness about the correct use of blood in order to reduce wastage.
- The SANBS keeps blood safe by testing every unit of blood collected daily for pathogens that cause HIV, hepatitis B and C as well as syphilis which are prevalent in the country. South Africa is one of few middle-income countries that run nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT) which detects the pathogens responsible for these epidemics by significantly reducing the length of the window period.
SANBS sees blood as an investment that gives people in need the chance of living healthy lives.
Wendy Patterson, a first time mother got a chance to watch her son grow up as a result of the investment 22 people made by donating blood.
The birth of my son was the most wonderful experience of my life but the treatment I took to manage the pain that two slipped discs caused me resulted in me almost bleeding to death on two occasions.
“I remember seeing the crisp white hospital bed sheets turn red as large volumes of blood left my body,” Patterson recalled.
The SANBS has over 400 000 donors in their database and the number is growing especially among the youth.
SANBS encourages all South Africans to donate blood and to support their cause. For more information on how to become a blood donor and to find your nearest donor centre visit www.sanbs.org.za.
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Also read:
Be a hero – Donate blood and save a patient’s life
France to lift ban on gay men giving blood
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