WITH St Valentine’s Day coming up soon the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) asks you to celebrate your love for the human race by donating blood this month.
Then why not repeat this celebration every month. With your unselfish act of donating blood you can make a difference to the lives of many people you may never know.
“Show your love by becoming a regular donor and make a difference to the lives of many others,” said SANBS regional marketing manager Sifiso Khoza.
With January blood stock levels dropping to less than one day in some provinces, alarm bells are ringing. SANBS is asking people to join the blood donation community and to start donating a minimum of four times a year.
In this way, all eligible donors can share their liquid love this month and commit to becoming regular donors. In fact, it is not too late to make donating four times this year your new year resolution – and SANBS will reward all donors who donate four units in a calendar year by giving them a limited edition sports bag.
“With schools, universities and organisations all back to normal we thought we would be able to maintain good blood stock levels; however that has not been the case,“ said Mr Khoza. He pointed out that February was also Healthy Lifestyles Awareness Month and said that numbers of people with diseases triggered by unhealthy lifestyle choices were on the increase. Bad choices included smoking, being overweight, indulging in an unhealthy diet filled with fatty foods and limited fruits and vegetables, physical inactivity and high stress levels.
“SANBS supports Healthy Lifestyle Awareness Month and encourages South Africans to start paying attention to problem areas in their health, go for regular medical check-ups and control their stress levels,” he said.
There were some minimum requirements for donating blood, Mr Khoza pointed out. Donors had to weigh at least 50kg, be between 16 and 65 years of age, lead safe sexual lifestyles, be in general good health, and consider their blood safe for transfusion to a patient.
SANBS is a non-profit organisation that provides an essential service within South Africa. It is rated amongst the best in the world in the provision of blood and blood products, as well as in relation to the research and training provided. It operates across all of South Africa, except the Western Cape.
To find your nearest donor centre telephone 0800 11 9031.
