Make blood donations a New Year’s resolution

While blood stocks are at a five-day supply, the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) is appealing to new donors to help maintain stocks as the new year kicks off.

With New Year’s resolutions still fresh, SANBS invites the community to make a life-changing resolution by pledging to become regular blood donors as their commitment to saving lives.

Just one unit of donated blood can be processed into three components, namely red cells, platelets and plasma, thus saving up to three lives. The donation process takes approximately 30 minutes.

Less than 1% of South Africans are active blood donors, and donors can give blood as often as every eight weeks.

SANBS strives to collect 3 000 pints of blood a day, but during the holiday period they do not have access to schools, universities or corporates to carry out blood drives.

Low donor numbers means the nation is almost always close to running out of blood stocks, placing thousands of lives at risk every day.

If you know of communities, corporates, schools, colleges, churches or residential complexes where the SANBS can sign up new donors and hold blood drives, visit sanbs.org.za/book-blood-drive-form/ to sign them up.

Minimum requirements to be a blood donor:

You are between the ages of 16 and 75 years old, for first time donors
You weigh a minimum of 50kg (for platelets a minimum of 55kg)
You are in good health
You lead a low risk lifestyle
You consider your blood safe for transfusion
You have eaten a balanced meal within four hours of donating blood
You have not donated blood in the last 56 days (platelets in the last
14 days)
Your pulse is between 60-100 regular beats per minute
Your blood pressure is below 180 systolic (first number) and below 100 diastolic (second number) (180/100mmHg) and above 100 systolic (first number) and above 60 diastolic (second number) (100/60mmHg)
Your haemoglobin level is 12.g for women and 13.g for men/dL or above

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