Tony donates his 220 pint with the SANBS
After his second younger brother suffered from gastrointestinal bleeding, Tony Erasmus started donating blood at the age of 17 to save lives other lives as his little brother also received blood from anonymous.
From the time he was a teenager, Tony Erasmus of New Redruth in Alberton had the chance to join countless others in supporting the South African National Blood Service (SANBS).
SANBS is a non-profit organisation that works in South Africa and offers human blood for transfusion.
According to Tony, he grew up in a family of six children. He started donating blood at the age of 17 and has now donated blood for over 50 years. He has donated at least 220 pints of blood which when converted to litres is 125,017. He has rare blood, B plus.
Tony told the Alberton Record the reason he started donating blood is that his second-younger brother was diagnosed with gastrointestinal bleeding where he lost lots of blood and a good Samaritan helped with blood.
“If it wasn’t for the person who helped my younger brother, he wouldn’t be alive today. That served as a building block for me to be enthusiastic about donating blood. I knew that one visit to the nearest SANBS to donate blood saved at least three lives in dire need of blood,” Tony said.
The local hero taught his two sons about the importance of donating blood. Both sons also left their footprints in changing the world to be a better space and saving lives by donating blood. According to Tony, it does not matter where he is, if he gets an SMS to donate blood he spares time to go to the nearest SANBS centre.
Tony’s achievements through donating blood
When he donated his 150 pints, Tony was given a bronze medal by the SANBS in recognition of the positive impact he is making to change lives through donating blood.
“Anyone can help someone in need by donating blood, which is a valuable resource because it takes 24 hours for the body to regenerate the blood that has been donated or has been transfused. It always feels good to know that you have done something to impact someone’s life for the better,” Tony said.
At his 200-pint donation, he was showered with a gold medal by SANBS thanking him for the beautiful influence within the drive and for remaining constant in continuing the organisation’s purpose.
Tony’s other interests
Supporting the interests of others is one thing that keeps Tony going and alive. He believes that it is easier to lose who you are or rather what you stand for when self-interest takes precedence over shared objectives.
He also provides food and other essentials to the most challenged individuals within the city on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He regards this as an interest because it gives him purpose.
“By offering help to the most challenged, showing them moral support and exhibiting genuine humility and respect, you help them realise that someone is truly concerned about them and striving to improve their situation,” said Tony.
How to donate blood?
SANBS have created a quick online quiz to help you decide if today would be a good day to save some lives or you can visit the nearest centre to donate, click HERE to find a centre near you.
A staff member from SANBS will evaluate final eligibility at the donation centres.
For more information, contact the SANBS call centre on 080 011 9031.
