Blood service goes digital and upgrade systems
The blood service will be closed on November 5 and 6.
The blood services in Secunda, Sasol and Bethal will be open until 19:00 until November 3.
The extended hours will accommodate donors wanting to donate blood this week because the blood services will be closed on November 5 and 6 to upgrade their systems.
The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) is going digital to improve the donor experience at its sites nationally.
According to Ravi Reddy, the CEO of the SANBS, with less than 1% of South Africans actively donating blood, the SANBS is committed to enhancing the blood donation processes and attracting new donors, particularly the youth, to bolster the blood donor pool.
The SANBS’ executive for transfusion donor services and marketing, Siemi Prithvi-Raj, said, “The SANBS is moving towards digitalisation because we understand that to attract and inspire a new generation of donors, we need to leverage technology’s power.
“Digitalising donation sites will ensure operational efficiencies and streamline the SANBS’ administration processes by using modern customer relationship management systems to ensure donors enjoy an optimised experience.
“The automated questionnaire will further help to flag potential issues in real-time, ensuring improved donor and blood safety.”
Reddy continued, “The introduction of the digital medical questionnaire at donation sites highlights our commitment to go paperless across our business and to continuously innovate and become an organisation whose operational processes are as sophisticated as our medical technology.
“Donors must present for their first donation after November 7 with their IDs and prepare to have their photo taken, required for the new donor profiles.
“We will then verify donors on the system.”
The medical questionnaire will now be completed on a tablet or kiosk station, followed by the compulsory medical assessment, where donors will provide a signature on a digital device.
According to Reddy, this is only the beginning of the SANBS’ digitalisation journey and involves taking the first giant step in the right direction.
“We encourage donors, especially the youth, to help us make this a smooth transition by getting behind the enhanced donation drives and donating in their numbers,” said Reddy.
“Bring a friend, colleague or even a neighbour with you to your next donation and help us to ensure ample blood stocks ahead of the two-day downtime planned for November.”
Visit the SANBS branch in Secunda on Horwood Street or the Bethal branch in the same centre as SPAR.
