POLOKWANE – The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) on Saturday not only conducted a regular blood drive at Seshego Circle Centre but also celebrated the use of a state-of-the-art Mobile Donor Centre which will be roaming the province for the rest of October.
Instead of the usual tents where donors have to endure extreme conditions to help save lives, they can now sit in an air-conditioned environment in a comfortable chair while donating blood.
Representatives of Netcare Pholoso Hospital also joined in the blood drive but focused on screening for hypertension, glucose, and healthy lifestyle-related matters.
SANBS Donor Relations Practitioner, Ipeleng Thetela said the Mobile Donor Centre is owned by the National SANBS and travels the county to create not only awareness of blood donation but to provide a more comfortable venue for donations. “There is currently a huge shortage of blood in Limpopo and the rest of the country.
SANBS needs 4 500 units of blood per day. “Our biggest contributors are high schools but with Covid-19 regulations we were not allowed at schools, and it had a massive impact on our blood stock,” she said.
SANBS Limpopo has already started making arrangements to get back into action at local schools. “There are some schools who have agreed to welcome us back but we will only focus on Gr 10 and 11 learners in an effort not to disturb matric learners who need to focus on their academics,” Thetela said.
The SANBS Mobile Donor Centre will be stationed at Seshego Circle Centre until today (Wednesday) and at Game Centre in Polokwane tomorrow (Thursday). From 23 to 25 October donors from Bela-Bela and surrounds will be able to donate while Polokwane will once again be urged to donate blood when the Mobile Donor Centre will be stationed at Savannah Mall from 26 to 31 October.
