SANBS urgently needs your blood
According to the South African National Blood Service, the current blood stock is at 4.8 days
POLOKWANE – The volume of blood in a human body is approximately 7% of the body’s weight.
Today, the current blood stock is at 4.8 days. This might sound enough, but if you consider all who need blood, it is not enough at all.
Ipeleng Thetela, donor relations practitioner at The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) Limpopo, has encouraged residents to donate blood.
“The Polokwane SANBS clinic is open every day and we also have mobile clinics around the province. By donating blood you can help up to three lives as blood is separated into red blood cells, plasma and platelets,” she explained.
Blood is needed by mothers that give birth, cancer patients, trauma victims, for organ transplants and complicated surgical procedures.
Healthy blood cannot be manufactured by humans and therefore people have to donate blood.
Checklist for donating
• First time donors have to be between 16 and 65-years-old.
• You must weigh a minimum of 50kg and if you want to donate platelets, 55kg.
• You must be healthy and lead a low risk lifestyle.
• You must consider your blood safe for transfusion.
• You must wait at least 56 days after your last donation.
• Your pulse must be between 50 and 100 regular beats per minute.
• Your blood pressure must be below 180 systolic (first number) and below 100 diastolic (second number) (180/100mmHg) and above 100 systolic (first number) and above 60 diastolic (second number) (100/60mmHg).
Make sure you have eaten a balanced meal within four hours of donating blood.
You might also want to read: 12 reasons you may not be able to donate blood
There are four major blood groups namely A, B, AB and O. Each person is also classified as either Rh positive or Rh negative and therefore there are eight different blood groups namely: A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, O+ and O-.
Not all blood groups are compatible with each other and the success of modern transfusion medicine depends on classifying and matching donors and patients correctly.
You can donate blood at the following places this August:
