Chronicle Editor
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Mat South Bureau Chief
The National Blood Services Zimbabwe (NBSZ) has said it has enough stocks to cater for casualties during the festive season.
The Beitbridge-Gwanda highway, which is a transit route for many travellers and cargo coming from South Africa and other countries is increasingly busy during this time of the year.
Due to increased movement to visit loved ones during the festive season, the country has over the years recorded a spike in accidents during this period.
NBSZ Southern Region Manager Mr Sifundo Ngwenya called for members of the public to be cautious when engaging in different festive activities, saying the season has in previous years been characterised by increase in demand for blood owing to an increase in road traffic accidents.
He called for responsible behaviour during the festive season to curb unnecessary loss of life and life changing injuries.
“As NBSZ, we have done our best in terms of preparations for this season. We have enough stocks but we also call upon Zimbabweans to enjoy this season responsibly and to remember that there is life after the festivities.
This is a season characterised by a lot of travelling as people join families and relatives.
We urge motorists to drive safely so that everyone arrives alive. Let us curb human error on our roads,” said Mr Ngwenya.
He urged public transporters to avoid speeding which is one of the major causes of accidents.
“Operators must not put their crews under pressure to increase profits. Respect human life,” he said.
Mr Ngwenya said the blood bank’s programming was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic as some planned blood drives had to be cancelled.
He said the Covid-19 vaccination also disrupted blood collection as vaccinated people can only donate blood after 14 days.
“We had to focus on schools as pupils were not vaccinated for Covid-19 and therefore could donate blood,” said Mr Ngwenya.
He said the Pledge 25 club members, which are made up of out of school youths who were blood donors during their school going days also came through during lockdown when blood stocks ran low.
Mr Ngwenya said some donors had difficulties reaching NBSZ centres during the lockdown prompting NBSZ to have community outreach meetings.
He said 70 percent of the country’s blood stocks come from high school learners and urged the adult population to also donate.
“It’s ironic that 70 percent of our blood stocks come from school pupils but most of our blood users are in the adult population.
We therefore encourage Zimbabweans to have a culture of giving blood. Some people are afraid to donate due to myths but the same people expect to find blood when they or their relatives need it,” said Mr Ngwenya.
He said the blood bank in the region uses about 1 500 pints per month if there are no serious eventualities that require increased blood supply. — @Yolisswa
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