Mzansi in serious need of blood!

With less than 1% of South Africans are active blood donors, the SANBS says the national blood supply is significantly low!

By Esau Dlamini

The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) is currently facing a critical shortage of blood supplies, causing hospitals across the country to be in dire need of donations.

The restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic have severely limited the ability of the SANBS to collect adequate blood stocks, especially from schools, colleges, community centers, and corporate blood drives.

In an effort to raise awareness of this critical situation, we recently had a Q&A session with Katrina Makamo, a Donor Relations Practitioner based in Johannesburg.

Here are the highlights of the interview:

Mapepeza: What is the aim of SANBS?

Katrina: The aim of SANBS is to collect and supply the country with safe blood.

Mapepeza: Who is eligible to donate blood? What are the requirements? Are foreigners eligible?

Katrina: You must be between the ages of 16 and 75 years old and weigh a minimum of 50kgs (for platelets, a minimum of 55kgs). You must be in good health, lead a low-risk lifestyle, and consider your blood safe for transfusion. You can’t have donated blood in the last 56 days (or platelets in the last 14 days). Foreigners may be eligible to donate if they have been in South Africa for more than 3 years and have not been to their country or a malaria high-risk country in more than 3 years.

Mapepeza: Where can one donate blood?

Katrina: There are over 81 donor centers nationally and over 7500 mobile blood drives.