World Donor Day at Maponya Mall in Pimville
Young people encouraged to volunteer to donate blood.
Every year, World Blood Donor Day highlights the need to maintain a stable supply of healthy, safe blood and blood products, while encouraging people to become regular donors.
It’s also an opportunity to thank the volunteers whose donations of blood save and enhance the lives of others.
In celebration of our donors on World Donor Day, on Friday, June 14, Maponya Mall was one of the venues where South African National Blood Service (SANBS) held a blood drive and outside broadcast with Jozi FM.
People were invited and encouraged to go and donate blood.While the SANBS applauds its regular donors, more volunteers are needed to ensure the target of 3 500 units per day is maintained, we were impressed to see some of the young people volunteering to donate blood.
“We are encouraging young people to come and donate because as you know we have age restrictions, when we have young people we know that we are going to have them for a longer period unlike when we have more of old volunteers because at some stage, they will have to stop because of age,” said Wisani Manganyi, clinic supervisor for SANBS Maponya Mall.
Some of the most common reasons why people don’t want to volunteer include, the fear of needles, religious reasons and the fear of testing for HIV when they are not ready, However, this is clearly another way of encouraging people to know their status and live a healthy lifestyle, as HIV is not the only reason why your blood might be rejected, there are other health issues involved.
[also read] –Boni 4 Kasi grooming Soweto young cyclists
“We do test for HIV and we don’t hide it, because we need to make sure that your blood is safe enough to be given to someone else.
“We also encourage them to live a sexually safe lifestyle, however, we are not an HIV testing station and we want people to donate for the sake of helping others not just because they want to know their status,” said Katrina Makamu, who does education of blood donations.
“For those who are scared of needles, all I can say is, always think of a person who needs your blood, you’ll see that it is worth overcoming your fear for the needle,” she added.
These are some of the basic requirements you need to become an official donor.
• You must be in good health and feeling well
• You must be between 16 and 75 years old
• You must weigh at least 50 KG
Info box: This is where your blood goes There is a common misconception that most of the blood donated in South Africa goes to accident victims. This is not the case. Here is a rough breakdown from the SANBS of where the blood it collects is used:
28% is used to treat cancer and aplastic anaemia ? 27% is used during childbirth ? 21% is used for scheduled surgery ? 10% is used for paediatric care ? 6% goes to laboratories ? 6% is used for orthopaedic care ? 4% is used for accident or trauma victims.
Follow Us Here:
Catch the latest news by visiting our other platforms:
