This is the current campaign of the South African National Blood Service (SANBS).
Vanessa Raju, Communications Manager for the SANBS, says that the campaign is aimed at reminding the public of how important donating blood is amidst the other demands in one’s day-to-day life.
In recent weeks there was a critical shortage of blood, although this has slightly improved we know from previous years and our current forecasts that the period during November and up until January will be yet a challenging time for SANBS to meet the demand for blood by patients in need.
When there are shortages of blood, there is always a demand for O-blood group as this is a universal blood group.
“In emergency cases, the O-blood group is in high demand, as an O group donor is known as the universal donor and when there isn’t enough time for medical staff to find out what blood type the patient is, they request O-blood group, which therefore increases the demand,” says Raju.
According to www.nccbb.org/faq.html, the amount of blood donated is approximately 480ml which is equivalent to about 10% of the body’s total blood volume.
A person can donate blood every 56 days, this allows plenty of time for your red blood cells to be replenished.
Platelets (blood cells that stops the bleeding process) return to normal levels within about 72 hours of donating.
Be sure to eat well before you donate blood.
Look out for your nearest SANBS branch to stop by and give a little blood for the festive season.
You can donate at any time from Monday to Friday at 7am to 5pm and public holidays and Saturdays from 8am to 1pm.
For more information call 0800 11 9031 or visit www.sanbs.org.za.
