Call for blood donation ahead of festive season |15 December 2022
Some donors giving blood during the exercise last Friday
December is the month where we all get busy and start preparing for the change of year. Annually, during this month, the Blood Transfusion Centre (BTC) of the Seychelles Hospital typically sees a decline in blood donors, which greatly impacts patient care.
The festive season is a time of giving, and what better gift can one give if not blood – the ‘Gift of Life’ – and help ensure that a patient’s lifesaving treatment is met.
In line with this, the BTC organised a blood drive last Friday, December 9 and will organise a second one tomorrow, December 16, from 8am to 4pm.
The BTC is therefore calling on volunteers to come forward to donate blood.
Elizabeth Banda, senior programme officer at the Blood Transfusion Unit, shared that “these two days we are campaigning for blood donation as a Christmas gift to our patients. Unfortunately we have not received many volunteers coming forward. The donors that came on the first day was from Kempinski Hotel and they usually come on a regular basis. For this month there is a challenge to get donors. We are talking with some companies to have some people”.
Ms Banda stressed on the fact that it is critically important that donors make an appointment to give blood now, to help maintain a stable blood supply for the festive season. “Unfortunately, the need for blood doesn’t take a break. Volunteer donors are the only source of blood for patients with blood disorders, trauma victims and those experiencing difficult childbirths.”
Friends, relatives or work colleagues and all those who have not travelled within the last four months, are encouraged to call 4388336 and book an appointment to donate blood tomorrow, Friday December 16.
If you want to donate blood at any time of the year, the BTC continues to operate on every other day of the week at its usual time. For more information contact the Blood Transfusion Centre on 4388336.
Vidya Gappy
Photos: Joena Meme
