Donating blood is not an effort for these people, it’s a way of life.
On Saturday, 11 February, the Egoli West Donor centre held an awards ceremony where all donors were thanked and honoured for their blood donations.
The event took place at Usambara in Krugersdorp, with 340 people attending, and 170 being rewarded. The day was filled with treats and good company. The people who were honoured had each donated between 20 and 300 units (from two elderly men).
Donating blood is a long-term commitment. If you have donated 100 units, that mean that you have been donating for more than 20 years of your life.
“I just love these events, because they recognise you for doing something wonderful,” donor John Clifton said.
The donors all felt that they did their part in saving lives and wished to inspire the youth to do the same.
The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) needs 3 000 units of blood every day country-wide. Of these, 127 units are donated daily, 6 working days a week, by the Egoli West Donor Centre.
The staff also informed donors and non-donors about the way which blood gets transported from the donor to the actual recipient, and an inspiring speaker told the tale of her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter, Jessy Natasen, who needs to receive blood on a weekly basis.
Future plans SANBS has:
• Regular customer service refresher sessions
• Extensive recruitment of lapsed donors
• Staff optimisation for high volume blood drives and donor centres, especially on Saturdays.
By implementing these strategies the SANBS plans to increase its annual target and save more lives by collecting more blood.
Read more here
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