Changes to Western Cape Blood Service’s blood donation deferral periods

CHARLIE Hofmeyr het verlede week hul verjaarsdag gevier. Die skool is vanjaar 102 jaar oud. Die leerlingraad het die personeel met ‘n heerlike verjaarsdagkoek en nie-alkoholiese vonkelwyn bederf.

DURING March, the Western Cape Blood Service revised their blood donation deferral policies and made changes that may impact your next blood donation date.

“We hope that the changes will result in fewer people being turned away from donating blood”, says Dr. Caroline Hilton, Lead Medical Consultant at the Western Cape Blood Service.

A deferral period is a waiting period applied when a donor does not qualify to donate within the specified time due to various reasons, including certain activities or illnesses.

Some of the policy changes mentioned above include reducing the deferral periods after dental procedures and stricter deferrals were put in place following strokes or transient ischaemic attacks (‘mini strokes’).

“With the new changes put in place, we want to reassure the public that the safety of both the patient and donor will always remain our utmost priority” says Dr Hilton.

From now on, insulin-dependent diabetic blood donors can donate blood, provided their blood sugar levels are well controlled and they do not have any known diabetic complications. In addition, people with pacemakers can also donate blood.

However, a confirmation letter is needed from their doctor stating that they are asymptomatic and the device was inserted more than 6 months before the day of donation.

People using intravenous recreational drugs were previously permanently deferred. Due to improved confidence in the testing methodologies used to detect specific viral infections in blood donations, they can now donate after a 3 month deferral. In addition, donors who have undergone a cardiac bypass or stent will be permitted to donate 6 months after the procedure without the previous requirement of a letter from their doctor, provided that they are asymptomatic.

Donors who underwent cosmetic procedures such as Botox, Micro-needling, and laser therapy can now donate immediately after these procedures, provided the treatment was performed by a registered practitioner using disposable needles.

“These changes were carefully reviewed and compared to national and international policies, and we hope it will bolster our blood stocks,” says Dr Hilton.

For more information about the deferral policies, call Dr Caroline Hilton on (021) 507-6441 or email caroline@ wcbs.org.za.

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The Western Cape Blood Service (WCBS) is appealing to all donors to donate blood as blood stocks are critically low. “We always aim to have a blood stock level of 5 days. Currently, there is a critical shortage in the O-negative blood group, with only a 2 day supply left. The A-positive blood stock is also declining as we only have a 3 day supply left”, says Marike Gevers, Public Relations Manager at WCBS.

The need for blood and blood products increases annually, and to meet the province’s demand, WCBS need to ensure that collection targets are met. Each day the blood service needs to collect 700 units of blood. “Ideally, we want 1 - 2% of the Western Cape’s population to become active blood donors. An active blood donor is classified as someone who donates blood once a year, even though you can donate 6 times a year. At the moment, only 0.92% of the population are active blood donors, yet 75% of the population will still require blood or blood products in their lifetime,” says Gevers. If you’re between ages of 16 and 75, weigh 50kg or more, are in good general health, and lead a safe sexual lifestyle, you should be able to donate. Blood donation only takes 30 minutes of your time and you can donate blood every 56 days. It is never too late to donate blood. Gevers also encourage donors that haven’t donated blood in a while to find their closest blood donation clinic and to continue their lifesaving journey. For more information, call WCBS on (021) 507-6300, e-mail: info@wcbs.org.za or visit www.wcbs.org.za. Blood stock updates and interesting facts about donation can be found on Facebook ( @TheWCBS ), Twitter ( @The_WCBS ) and Instagram (@thewcbs) accounts. Download the WCBS app, which is available on all iOS and Android devices. It will show you the nearest clinic, the current blood stock levels in real time, and your blood type if you’re a blood donor of course.

You’re just my type. Do something remarkable, donate blood.

SANBS blood stock levels improving but still under pressure

BLOOD stocks are slowly increasing but remain lower than the five days cover required.

Since the beginning of the year, the demand for blood has been consistently higher than the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) collections especially for blood groups O and B.

“We would like to thank our donors for increased collections, but we are not in the safe zone yet. We urge everyone including active donors, lapsed donors and potential donors to continue donating consistently to ensure ongoing adequate national stocks,” says Thandi Mosupye, SANBS Senior Manager: Marketing, Communication and Brand.

To adequately cater for the country’s blood requirements, an allocation of 3 500 units of blood is needed daily to serve the needs of hospitals and clinical requirements.

Five days cover on average is the minimum safe supply needed in the blood bank. Currently SANBS is collecting enough blood supply for three days which is an improvement from 2.7 days but remains under the national requirement of 5 days.SANBS has 83 blood banks supporting close to 500 transfusing facilities.

SANBS is appealing to everyone who is eligible to donate blood and willing to help save lives, to find their nearest donation centre by visiting our website www.sanbs.org.za.