Rotary Club of Victoria |15 June 2020
Volunteers donating blood yesterday at the Seychelles Hospital (Photo: Thomas Meriton)
Fifty volunteers donate blood
Yesterday the World Health Organisation (WHO) and all countries celebrated World Blood Donor Day. This year’s theme is ‘Safe blood’. In Seychelles, the Rotary Club of Victoria organised a campaign at the Seychelles Hospital, in collaboration with the Health Care Agency, whereby some 50 volunteers donated blood.
The chief executive of the Health Care Agency, Dr Danny Louange, noted that “today is a day to celebrate and thank individuals who donate blood and encourage more people to start donating. We also seize the opportunity to raise wider awareness of the urgent need to increase the availability of safe blood for use wherever and whenever it is needed to save lives. In Seychelles we do have a group of Seychellois and also expatriates who religiously donate blood and we say thank you to them”.
Dr Louange continued by explaining the importance of blood. “Safe blood is critical both for treatments and urgent interventions. We have had situations where a surgery is postponed due to lack of blood in the blood bank. When this kind of situation arises, we urge the family to come forward and back up the system. In Seychelles for now, we are able to sustain the demand but there is always a need to replenish our blood bank for any situations that can help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions live longer and with a higher quality of life and supports complex medical and surgical procedures. Blood is also vital for treating the wounded during emergencies of all kinds.”
According to the WHO, blood donations are needed all over the world to ensure individuals and communities have access to safe and quality-assured blood and blood products in both normal and emergency situations. Through the campaign, WHO call on more people all over the world to become life-savers by volunteering to donate blood regularly.
As stated in a previous article by chief technologist of the clinical laboratory of Seychelles Hospital, Joanne Michel, donated blood stored in the blood bank of Seychelles Hospital is never enough despite the 300 or so people who give blood regularly.
“We rely heavily on family replacement,” she said. “Although the total capacity of the blood bank is 450 to 500 units, we are rarely at maximum capacity,” she added.
On average the hospital uses 4 to 5 units every day. Blood groups A and O are the most common blood groups among the Seychellois.
Vidya Gappy
Do you know what happens to your blood?
Once your test results are received, units suitable for transfusion are labelled and stored. Red cells are stored in refrigerators at 6ºC for up to 42 days.
Platelets are stored at room temperature in agitators for up to five days.
Plasma and cryo are frozen and stored in freezers for up to one year.