Maurice shows Ekurhuleni the importance of donating blood
“When I was in the navy in the 1960’s there was a call for volunteers to donate blood and I was selected to take part”.
Former South African naval officer Maurice Rosenston celebrated his milestone 350th blood donation last week.
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The Orange Grove resident chose the Bruma Blood Donor Centre as his destination of choice for the donation and completed his donation in a time of six minutes and 12 seconds.
For Maurice, blood donation was not a choice.
“When I was in the navy in the 1960s there was a call for volunteers to donate blood and I was selected to take part. I was hooked on donating blood from that day.”
Now, 305 donations later, Maurice hasn’t missed a single donation.
“Donating blood helps your own body by replacing old blood with new blood and it also helps others. Through my donations I have helped over 1 000 lives,” he said.
Maurice added that to reach the milestone, he set smaller goals for himself.
“When I reached 25 donations, I set a goal to reach 50 donations. My next goal is to reach 375 donations,” the 77-year-old told the Bedfordview and Edenvale NEWS.
Maurice has also inspired others around him to become donors.
“My son is an active donor in Israel. Giving blood saves lives and that means that everyone can save a life.”
Maurice hopes to one day reach over 400 donations.
Every year, South Africa observes World Blood Donor Month in June and World Blood Donor Day on June 14.
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World Blood Donor Day was established in 2004 and serves to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank blood donors for their voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood.
Moreover, the month-long celebration serves the purpose of thanking and encouraging people to commit to regular donations.
Thousands of people with chronic and life-threatening conditions depend on blood donors.
“The best gift you can give anyone is the gift of life. We know that South Africans have huge hearts and we call on them to fully embrace the spirit of unity under this year’s World Blood Donor Day theme, ‘Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives,” said Thandi Mosupye, SANBS’ senior manager for marketing and communication.
Visit www.sanbs.org.za or call 0800 11 90 31 to find out where to support blood drives throughout the month of June.
