The New Amsterdam Blood Bank is now 16 units of blood closer to reaching its 2014 target after Dave’s Television Station (DTV-8) and the All Saints Anglican Church collaborated to host a blood drive last Thursday, October 9.
This year, the blood bank’s target was set at 1,500 units by the Berbice Regional Health Authority (BRHA) and it has so far managed to garner 700 units through the hosting of some 34 drives. While commendable, it is woefully behind on its target and hence made an appeal for help from the general public.
The blood drive held on Thursday, was the third such hosted by the television station and was aimed at not only acquiring several units of blood to assist the N/A Blood Bank in its time of need, but to also encourage persons to become regular volunteer blood donors.
Among the 41 persons who volunteered to donate, 21 were males and 20 were females. However, only 11 males and 5 females were eligible to donate and subsequently donated after successfully completing the screening process. Of those who donated, 64.5% were first-time donors. Thirty-year-old Jevaughn Stephen after donating blood for the first time said he was pleasantly surprised the entire process was “relatively short, simple and easy.” He explained that he had always wanted to be a voluntary donor but had a slight apprehension for needles. However, after some persuasion from the organisers, he found that he quite enjoyed the act of donating blood and felt good about being able to help save lives.
The Region 6 Blood Donor Organiser Candy Archer thanked DTV and the church for continuing to support the blood bank and said that “every organisation, group and individual that supports the blood bank is not only helping us to reach our target, they are helping to save lives.” Archer explained that the needs of the region fall in the range of 300 to 400 units of blood yearly, so the remainder of the blood garnered through blood drives is sent to the National Blood Bank where it is stored and distributed to other regions in need.
A total of 25 persons were deferred to a future blood drive, since despite being willing to donate they did not meet the requirements and hence failed the screening test. Most of the deferrals were as a result of low blood count, and those persons were advised on ways in which they can build up their blood count.
The blood drive was held under the slogan ‘Be Brave. Be a hero. Donate Blood’.
