Blood for Christmas stockings
2007-12-06
The Western Province Blood Transfusion Service (WPBTS) will host special blood donation drives at shopping malls and holiday resorts across the Western Cape this Festive Season to accommodate holiday makers who want to donate blood. The Western Cape’s major hospitals have reported a consistent increase in the usage of blood over the past two months. The WPBTS expects this situation to become critical as the summer holiday season begins. “The province’s blood supply is under huge pressure at the moment. We urge the public to donate blood at our clinics - it is a life saving gift that many people will depend on this Christmas,” says Lynn Erasmus, spokesperson for the WPBTS. During the summer season many regular donors go on vacation and the number of public holidays limits the organisation’s ability to host clinics at educational and commercial institutions, two of its most important sources of donor blood. Human blood cannot be manufactured and the WPBTS relies on the commitment of volunteers who donate regularly to fulfil in the Province’s requirements of 600 units of blood each day. “In the Boland region 17 000 units of blood are required per year,” says Adanaan Arnold, the promotion officer for Boland Blood Transfusion Services. The WPBTS welcomes any person who wants to become a donor, but urges them to be unconditionally honest about their health and lifestyle when answering the donor questionnaire. Even though the organisation uses the best technology available to test donations for HIV, Hepatitis and Syphilis, donors must realise that only one inaccurate or false answer could jeopardise the lives of a number of recipients. The criteria for blood donors or prospective donors are that they must be in good general health, be aged between 17 and 65 years, weigh more than 50 kilograms, lead a safe sexual lifestyle and remember to eat before attending the donation clinic. Clinics are held at the Paarl Blood Donor Clinic, 263 Main Street, Paarl every Thursday from 10:00 to 19:00. Additional clinics are held on Fridays during December as well. Special drives will be held on Monday 24 December at Paarl Mall (Pick ‘n Pay entrance), Friday 28 December at Berg River Resort and Friday 28 December at Holllandse Molen Resort, Wemmershoek
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