The cost of blood

The South African National Blood Service is always in need of donations, but a donation made for a specific person is a lot more involved than meeting the donation health requirements.
Louisa Moraope, collections manager of the South African National Blood Service Egoli North branch, explained the process of a ‘direct donation’. According to Moraope, the donor and the patient need a prescription from their doctor to be able to donate or to receive blood.
Forms need to be filled out by the patient to give permission to donors to give blood. Proof needs to be given that the donor’s and the patient’s blood is compatible. If the blood bank does not have this information on record already, a test will have to be done at a pathology lab.

If the blood is donated by family members, the blood will have to go through irradiation to destroy any cells in the blood that could be detrimental to individuals with the same genetic makeup.
“This is a specialised service and can only be undertaken at our donor centres. An appointment needs to be made beforehand so that the centre can make provisions with staff, contact the processing laboratory and organise blood transport,” Moraope added.
“This is also not an emergency service and individuals cannot expect to donate today and have the blood ready to be given to a patient tomorrow. A minimum of 72 hours needs to be given for the process. This time cannot be completed over a weekend.”
It is also not a free service, with a minimum cost of R3 000 per unit donated.
Taryn Staley had sent out a plea for residents of Johannesburg to donate O-negative blood for Layla O’Neill, a child with ependymoma, a type of childhood cancer which affects the brain and spinal cord. O’Neill had recently undergone an operation where she lost a lot of blood and needed blood urgently.
The original plea sent to two WhatsApp groups spread to other social media, ending up on pages such as the Honeydew-Muldersdrift Community Facebook page.
Staley said she was amazed by the response but was unaware of the technicalities involved in donating blood for a specific person.
However, according to posts on the Raising Hope for Layla Facebook page, she is back home after her time in hospital and is receiving donations.