The next Flow Blood Drive is on 14 June – and because it is also World Blood Donor Day (WBDD), we are targeting 50 donors.
Blood transfusion services around the world will be celebrating WBDD, and the focus for this year’s campaign is “blood donation is a gift that saves lives”.
The host country this year is France and its national blood service, the Etablissement Francais du Sang, has been promoting voluntary non-remunerated blood donation since the 1950s.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is also calling for all countries to obtain 100% of their supplies of blood and blood products from voluntary unpaid blood donors by 2020.
The need for blood and blood products is increasing every year, and many patients requiring life-saving transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood and blood products.
In 2011, nearly 83-million blood donations were collected worldwide from voluntary unpaid blood donors, an increase of close to eight million donations from 2004.
“Blood collection from voluntary non-remunerated blood donors is the cornerstone of a safe and sufficient blood supply in all countries. More voluntary blood donors are needed to meet the increasing needs and to improve access to this life-saving therapy,” says Dr Neelam Dhingra, Co-ordinator for Blood Transfusion Safety at WHO.
“Furthermore, the safety and quality of blood and blood products should never be compromised.”
Regular voluntary unpaid blood donors are the safest source of blood, as there are fewer bloodborne infections among these donors than among people who give blood in exchange for money, or who donate for family members in emergencies.
Currently, 60 countries collect 100% of their blood supply from voluntary unpaid blood donors.
In low- and middle-income countries, blood transfusion is usually given for the management of complications of pregnancy and childbirth, and the treatment of severe childhood anaemia. In high-income countries, transfusion is most commonly used for supportive care in heart surgery, transplant surgery, trauma and cancer therapy.
Come and donate blood tomorrow, 14 June 2013, at Flow Communications Johannesburg at 231 Oxford Road, Dunkeld from 10h00 until 15h30 – successful blood donors will receive a voucher from enmasse Massage Concept. RSVP to.
mildred@flowsa.com