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The hunt is on – not for Easter eggs, but for committed blood donors.

Blood stocks traditionally dip during Easter because of the many public holidays and long weekends.  Regular school, tertiary institutions and business blood drives cannot take place during this time and severely impacts patients.

Unfortunately the demand does not decrease, and approximately 3 000 units of blood is still needed by patients daily and for every day we are unable to make this target, the total units of blood that is available depletes.

“We understand that many people will be busy or going on holiday over this period, but it only takes about 30 minutes of your time to make a huge difference to others in need of blood.  Easter is often a time for family and donating blood is a great way of knowing you may be able to give someone else more time with theirs,” says Vanessa Raju, National Communications Manager, SANBS.

If you are in good health and between the ages of 16 and 65, weigh more than 50 kg, and lead a sexually safe lifestyle make your way to your nearest donor centre.

To find out where your nearest donor centre is visit www.sanbs.org.za, call toll free 0800 11 9031 or sms your NAME and POST CODE of the area you live in to 31454 and we will sms you details of your nearest blood donor centre.

The public can also follow the most recent statistics of blood levels on the SANBS website.

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South African National Blood Service’s main purpose is to provide safe blood to the patients of South Africa, with YOUR HELP.

We aim to maintain a stock level of 5 days, with 3000 units collected per day to meet the demand.

Currently we are experiencing difficulty achieving this, which has been mainly due to the fact the school and university drives are not possible from September onwards as students are busy with exams, followed by a short break and a very intensive final quarter.

This puts severe pressure on SANBS and in times like this we request all hospitals and medical personal to hold back on planned surgeries.

We therefore urge all blood donors, to make a conscious effort to donate blood. Your one unit of blood can save up to three lives. This is also a plea to all South Africans who meets the minimum requirements to also commit to donating blood.

Minimum requirements to be a blood donor:

• Age 16 – 65 years
• Weigh more than 50 kgs
• Be in good health
• Live a sexually safe lifestyle.

So, Be A Hero, it’s in your BLOOD!

SANBS would like to thank all regular blood donors, who are silent heroes and we urge you to continue donating blood regularly.

Call SANBS Polokwane at 015 297 3636

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A call to action in June to acknowledge World Blood Donor Day, proved to be a great success with the public responding positively and this ensured that the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) was able to meet their demand in the month of June.

Now SANBS has issued this media release:

We are immensely grateful to you, our loyal donors for your response to our campaign. “The very low temperatures and unbearable weather conditions and with the added effect of the winter holidays and the flu virus, our collections have dropped drastically, resulting in a 2.2 day blood stock. This is far less than the 5 day stock we require to ensure that the country’s demand for safe blood is met” says Vanessa Raju, Brand and Communications Manager, SANBS.

At this low level of stocks and the forecast of collections to recover from this situation, SANBS has had to send out a communiqué to all hospitals and medical personnel to stop elective surgery, as we are unable to meet the emergency demand for blood, let alone planned surgeries.

With the 18th of July being Nelson Mandela Day, and the theme to “take ACTION and Inspire CHANGE”, we ask you to Pledge your support to blood donation, to make this your ACTION, because you can CHANGE the lives of those who are dependent on blood transfusions for their survival.

For more information visit the SANBS website or call 0800 11 9031. To pledge your support, send your name and the area you wish to donate in, to: 31454. SMS’s cost R 1.50

Lions Pietersburg is organising a Blood Drive Project on Sat 12 March 2011 from 09:00 - 14:00 at the SANBS Polokwane Donor Centre, Potgieter Avenue, Polokwane.

They request that the public participate in this worthy cause. (It is rumoured that you may leave with a free hot dog!)

Enquiries can be directed to Dottie Pinn at SANBS.

Lions Pietersburg members who organise a Blood Drive in Polokwane

If you would like SANBS to host a blood donation clinic at your workplace where 15 plus units can be collected at a time, please do not hesitate to contact me.