SOUTH CAPE NEWS - Donating one pint of your blood can potentially save up to three lives.
As part of its national blood conservation programme, Netcare has hosted over 100 blood donation drives in its hospitals countrywide so far this year.
In the process they have successfully collected an impressive 4 364 life-saving pints for the South African National Blood Service (SANBS).
Commenting on the programme, Netcare’s national blood conservation co-ordinator, Rene Grobler says the programme at first focused mainly on blood conservation to ensure minimal wastage.
However, the hospitals in the group have also included a blood drive challenge to encourage the donation of much-needed, life-saving blood.
“With our country’s seriously constrained blood stock reserve, even one unit of blood wasted is too much.
"However, considering that less than 1% of South Africans are active blood donors, it is just as critical to promote the importance of donating blood to ensure a sustainable blood stock reserve which ultimately saves many lives every day,” she says.
In addition to implementing strict guidelines whereby patients only receive blood when it is clinically indicated, Grobler explains that Netcare also makes use of ‘cell saver’ machines in its hospitals.
“Essentially these intraoperative cell salvage machines are used to suction, wash, and filter a patient’s blood so it can be infused back into the patient's body, for example in the case of surgery.
"This means that patients can receive their own blood instead of donor blood.
“And because the blood is re-circulated, the amount of blood that can be given back to the patient is unlimited. It also serves as a viable alternative for patients with religious objections to receiving blood transfusions,” she points out.
The aim of the regular blood drives at Netcare hospitals is to encourage staff members, patients, visitors and other members of the public to donate blood and do their bit for their fellow man, while at the same time providing them with a safe and convenient venue to do so.
“Generally speaking, shortages in donor blood occur when regular donors skip or delay a donation, for example when they go away during holiday periods, and not when there is an increase in demand due to motor vehicle accidents as is generally perceived.
"Through our inter-hospital blood donation challenge, we hope to encourage people to become frequent, regular blood donors.”
Eight out of every 10 people will need donated blood at some time in their lives, however very few give the SANBS a second thought until they or a loved one are the ones in need of blood.
The reality is that donated blood is so precious that no amount of money can buy it. Thanks to the benevolence, time and effort of regular donors, countless lives are saved daily,” stresses Grobler.
Accident victims, people who are severely anaemic, surgical patients, and women who have lost blood while giving birth are, among others, beneficiaries of donated blood.
The SANBS requires a stock level of five days to ensure it can meet demand, and aims to collect 3000 units of blood per day to ensure a safe and sufficient blood supply in the healthcare system.
A unit of blood only lasts 42 days after donation and, for this reason, it is important for blood donors to donate regularly.
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