Blood stocks fluctuate throughout the year and as we enter the festive season, the South African
National Blood Service (SANBS) reminds South Africans of the importance of donating blood to aid in
keeping blood stocks at safe levels.
Although the festive season is fun for most people, it is a difficult period for patients who need blood
and blood products to lead regular lives. “A large portion of our blood products are used to treat
patients with chronic illnesses. With December traditionally yielding low collections, this could threaten
peoples’ ability to enjoy their holidays should we not have the required blood products on hand when
needed,” said Thandi Mosupye, SANBS Senior Manager: Marketing and Communication.”
To get ahead of this challenge, SANBS calls on Group O and B donors to give a unit of blood prior to
setting off for their holiday destinations. "We need to collect a minimum of 3 500 units of blood, daily, to
maintain safe stock levels. We approach this season with stocks being lower than we'd like and we
could have some tough times ahead if donors do not respond to our call to lend a hand,” Mosupye
added. Five (5) days’ blood stocks are required to sustain the country’s need.
SANBS is calling on all donors who are due for donation to spare some time out of their day and give
the gift of life. Each unit of blood goes a long way towards ensuring that those reliant on blood
donations get to spend time with their families too.
On Tuesday, 8 November, SANBS launched the Change a Life campaign to educate donors about
platelet donation. “Platelet donors are crucial in helping us to provide much needed products for the
treatment of patients with blood disorders, cancer, and organ recipients. Patients undergoing cancer
treatment are highly dependent on regular platelet donations as part of their recovery,” Mosupye
concluded. The conversation about platelet donation continues on SANBS’ social media pages.
All willing and eligible donors are urged to visit their nearest mobile and fixed donor centres. With the
help of donors, SANBS has been able to carry out the important task of collecting blood to meet South
Africa’s needs. Each unit of blood will give a needed boost to blood collections ahead of the busiest
part of the holidays. Mobile blood drives continue to run across the country and all fixed donor centres
are electrified during blackouts.

About the SANBS
The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) is a Non-Profit Organisation, which provides a
vein-to-vein blood transfusion service in eight of the nine provinces of South Africa, with the exception
of the Western Cape.
The organisation has a donor base of approximately 500,000. The SANBS has two testing centres; one
in Johannesburg and the other in Durban which are supplemented by 7 blood processing centres
around the country. There are approximately 90 blood banks serving over 1000 hospitals and private
clinics in South Africa. The organisation also offers specialised laboratory services, for example, tissue
immunology, cytogenetic and proficiency testing.
The SANBS is dependent on a healthy donor population who is willing and able to donate blood and
blood products to meet the blood requirements of the country.