NBTS appeals for blood again

Dec 30, 2008 News

The National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) is once again appealing for volunteers to urgently donate their blood at the blood bank, as the NBTS is currently low on stock.
National Blood Donor Manager of the NBTS, Shameeza Mangal, told Kaieteur News that as of December 25, 2008 the blood bank only had 36 units of blood, of which 10 units were sent to the New Amsterdam Hospital while the rest were transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
Mangal explained that voluntary donation is currently at its lowest. Persons are not donating regularly due to the holiday season.
She noted that the NBTS currently has a lot of A and B type blood at hand, and the bank is trying its best to utilise it before the shelf life comes to an end, but, according to Mangal, this seems to be proving impossible as there are no patients at this time that require those types of blood.
However, she is optimistic that the blood will be used before the end of its shelf life, as there is always someone in need of blood.
Mangal said that as it is now, the NBTS is in dire need of the ‘O’ negative and ‘O’ positive types, as these are the types that are mostly demanded and needed by patients.
Anticipating that this would have been a difficult time for the blood bank to receive blood, the NBTS had commenced its ‘call back’ programme, where blood recruiters would telephone regular blood donors, asking them to once again give their blood. However, according to Mangal, this programme is proving to be slow so far, as most persons have declined to donate, citing that they would give after the holidays.
In this regard, she explained that this is a time when most accidents occur, and as such more blood will be required.
Since it is the season for sharing and giving, Mangal is urging the general public to come forward and give the ‘gift of life’ as they might be able to save someone’s life with just one unit of blood.
Working people will be facilitated at the blood bank and will not be made to wait, Mangal said.
Recently she had stated that, due to the reports carried in sections of the media that the NBTS discards blood, persons have been restrained from donating as they are of the belief that their blood would also go to waste.
The Ministry of Health had revealed that up to the end of November 2008 a total of 6,927 units of blood have been collected by the NBTS.
Of that number, voluntary blood donors contributed 3,900 units of all the blood collected, while the NBTS was responsible for the collection of 5,643 units.
In this regard, the Ministry of Health had urged the private sector hospitals to promote voluntary donation of blood, as the Ministry continues to make progress in recruiting more voluntary blood donors.

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NBTS appeals for blood again

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