AN uMhlanga Rocks woman has been told – more times than she’s actually made it to the donation chair – that she can’t donate blood, however, that doesn’t stop her from trying.

Also read: Talented veteran cyclist aims for two wins at aQuellé Tour Durban

Gia Maestrami has low blood pressure, yet she regularly visits the South African National Blood Service in Durban North to hear if she can be bled.

Maestrami wants to do whatever she can to comply with SANBS’ new ad campaign slogan, ‘A village takes us further’. Believe it or not, she is also petrified of needles.

“I’ve only donated blood twice in the two years that I’ve been trying. Although it has not always been possible for me to make a donation, I’ve explored other avenues on how to do my bit for SANBS,” she said.

Maestrami is a member of the Umhlanga Women Achievers (UWA), a network of phenomenal women in business who care about community and charitable causes.

“Under the UWA Cares banner, I took it upon myself to gather 15 members every 56 days to come and donate blood. Life gets busy, so I make sure to remind the ladies that they’re due for their next donations,” she said.

“A lot of the women have lost loved ones to cancer, so they’re aware of how important blood donations are.

Others just want to give back,” she added. You may be wondering why Maestrami is so hell-bent on donating blood, and the reasons are: With one donation, she is able to save three lives. She also belongs to a rare blood type, O-negative, which means anyone can receive her blood. Maestrami, however, is only able to receive O-negative.

“Science is absolutely amazing. Imagine saving three people with just one donation. Imagine a loved one of yours needs a blood transfusion, and there just isn’t enough blood for them. It’s scary. I also shudder to think what would happen if I, one day, needed a blood transfusion and was not only able to get one because I have a rare blood type,” she said.

Jeanne Vogel van der Sandt, who has been donating blood for 31 years, said she initially did it because she wanted the free cookie and juice.

“I was in matric and didn’t know any better. I was just trying to get out of the hostel and get a cookie and juice,” she said with a laugh.

After some time, she learnt the purpose of SANBS and the importance of these donations and has not missed a donation since then.

“It’s my way of giving back,” she told Northglen News while making a donation.

“How long did that take? Eight minutes. That’s all it takes every two months to give the gift of life. There’s no gift better than that,” she said.

For more from Northglen News, follow us on Facebook, X or Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.