NEWCASTLE KZN: Be a hero on June 14 – World Blood Donor Day

The NKZN branch of SANBS (the South African National Blood Service) will host a number of blood clinics on June 14, to celebrate World Blood Donor Day.

Donor Relations Practitioner, Shavani Sewpaul has urged regular and new donors to give the ‘gift of life’ at the following venues in the region: 

Newcastle Mall – 09:00 to 17:00

Qualitas EduCentre – 09:00 to 13:00

San Marco Centre (Ladysmith) – 10:00 to 17:00

St James Church Hall (Dundee) – 13:00 to 18:30

Donors will receive gifts and snacks on the day.

“Every blood donor is a hero. When you have the ability to do good and you don’t, the reason every blood donor deserves to be celebrated is because they do,” added Sewpaul. “Please donate blood and let SANBS show its appreciation – we salute you!”

In a press release this week, SANBS explained that World Blood Donor Day came amid the recovery from ‘a unique set of circumstances which brought the world to its knees’. Despite these challenges, SANBS believes the day remains as significant and important.

SANBS explained how each year, millions of South Africans were in need of blood transfusions to lead healthy lives. If not for voluntary blood donations, the service asked, where would people have to get blood, would it be safe for transfusion and what would they have to do to get this blood?

“With hosts of people still receiving blood transfusions in hospitals, the need for blood has not slowed down,” said SANBS CEO Ravi Reddy.

Reddy said that in honour of Youth Month, SANBS was reminded of young people’s long history of activism, proactiveness, and banding together for a shared cause. He believes the international #GiveBloodAndKeepWorldBeating movement taps into this idealism and passion for bringing vital causes to life.

He added that attempts to save lives have been ‘at the forefront of all blood donors’ minds’, amid a growing realisation across the globe that giving blood is a life-saving act of solidarity, and that services providing safe blood and blood products are a crucial part of any healthcare system.

“The task of getting donors to commit regularly is a great challenge and we hope that through hearing and reading shared stories from people whose lives have been saved by blood transfusions, people are motivated to adopt regular blood donation. We encourage more people to take up the cause and become life-savers by pledging to donate blood regularly on June 14. Happy World Blood Donor Day!”

To find out more about where you can donate blood, visit sanbs.org.za or call 0800 11 90 31. Don’t let South Africa run out of safe blood. Donate today.

RELATED COVERAGE: Blood donors help NKZN reach 114% of its target

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