Latest update December 23rd, 2024 3:40 AM
NBTS continues appeal for voluntary blood donation
As it continues to struggle to maintain its buffer stock quota, the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) is intensifying its efforts to reach an increased amount of donors. As part of this quest, the blood bank has been reaching out to donors located in far flung areas with the most recent being the Essequibo Coast.
In fact, NBTS Co-ordinator, Ms Shameeza Mangal, said that a total of 25 units were secured when a blood drive was hosted two weekends ago. And that blood drive she said may very well be the first official drive that has been held on the Essequibo Coast.
A donor gives blood
“We have made several attempts before along the Essequibo Coast but they never really materialised to the anticipated numbers. So this is a first for us and we expect many more like this to come.”
As soon as next week, the Co-ordinator is also expected to venture into the mining town of Linden to solicit the support from residents there as well.
According to Mangal, it is her intent to undertake an awareness campaign even as she engages discussions with Community leaders about the NBTS’s urgent need for blood. Linden, she disclosed, is yet to have an inaugural blood drive intended to boost the supply at the central Blood Bank.
“Just as how Lindeners are excited about Linden Town Day, I want them to be excited about having a first-time Blood Donation Day.”
And the expanded blood drives will not stop at Linden as Mangal has disclosed her plans to head to the Upper Corentyne and other areas in Berbice. This move, she said, may become a reality in a matter of weeks.
But in order to maintain such activities, Mangal speculated that there will be a need for collaboration between several organisations such as Non-Governmental Organisations, Faith Based Organisations and individuals, including senior Regional Officials. With a wide network of individuals and organisations recruiting donors, there is a greater likelihood that blood drives will comfortably secure a satisfactory amount of units.
At the moment, the blood bank is modestly stocked but according to Mangal, there will always remain the need for donors to give blood on a regular basis.
She disclosed that the donation pace at the commencement of the year is usually slow but would usually reach a moderate level with some voluntary drives sponsored by private organisations. However, the Blood Bank has had to rely on its call back programme through which appeals are made for previous donors to return and give blood.
“Every day we need donors to come because it is every day that hospitals are requiring us to supply them with blood…Demand is always greater than supply,” Mangal opined.
She related that there are instances when the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation may require over 46 units of blood but a mere eight donors offer to give the life saving liquid. A single donor is required to give one unit of blood which can save at least three lives.
But despite the challenges, Mangal revealed that the NBTS is surely heading toward the Ministry of Health’s 100 percent voluntary donor target, which has been three years in the making.
As at the end of last year, she said that voluntary donors represented 68 percent of the donations the blood bank received. This development, she added, will soon rule out the need for family replacement donors.
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