The South African National Blood Service visits Parktown High School for Girls
South African National Blood Service (SANBS) stock is critically low and urgently needs O+ donors to donate.
Parktown High School for Girls learners donated their blood to the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) on May 12.
Blood donation ambassador and learner Tinashe Chivaviro explained that her title came with responsibilities. “My role is to encourage people to make a difference and donate blood. I became an ambassador after donating three times which was after I saw previous ambassadors and gained an interest in the role.”
Donor relations practitioner Katrina Makamo from the SANBS said the NGO’s goal was to collect 37 units of blood from the high school but ended up collecting 41 units.
A first-time donator, Mablenhle Gumede said the blood donating process was daunting at first.
“My friend who is a regular donor encouraged me to sign up for the blood drive. What made me keen to donate blood was that I would not be alone, and the process was better than I thought. The only sore thing was the insertion of the needle, but the process was bearable.”
SANBS continues to urge people who are eligible to donate blood to spare 30 minutes of their time to give the gift of life and help stabilise blood stock levels by visiting their nearest sites or mobile drives. The NGO needs to maintain a blood stock level of five days for each blood group to ensure sustained availability for patients in need.
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