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Tendai Bhebe, Sunday News Reporter
THE National Blood Service of Zimbabwe (NBSZ) has started working on a number of campaigns meant to boost blood stocks in preparation for the festive season.
In an interview after the Learn to Say No Campaign held in Bulawayo yesterday, NBSZ Matabeleland region public relations officer Mr Sifundo Ngwenya said schoolchildren have remained the mainstay of blood donations hence focusing on them before schools close.
“About 70 percent of the blood we get is from school pupils, so what then happens is, during exam time the pool of people whom we are really targeting are the O-level and A-level pupils before they finish their examinations,” he said.
Mr Ngwenya, however, said mobility was now a big challenge due to shortage of fuel.
“Fuel is now difficult to find, even if we get the panels that will give us blood, we have a challenge of mobility and it has now crippled our movements in terms of going out to get blood from people. We are pleading with the garages to help us in terms of having access to fuel so that we can be able to travel to different places,” Mr Ngwenya said.
He said the NBSZ will be working tirelessly to stock up more blood by involving other organisations.
“We are working flat out to ensure that our stocks have adequate supplies and also in acquiring different blood groups. Faith based organisations like the Jabula Covenant Church has promised to help us get more blood. There is the Pledge 25 Club, a special club for young and healthy citizens who pledge to regularly donate safe units of blood, at least 25 times in their lives and they are really assisting us.
“We are planning for activities like the Pledge 25 Youth Donor Month campaign of December as we are planning to have a blood drive in Bulawayo, Plumtree, Tsholotsho, Gwanda and Esigodini,” he said.
Mr Ngwenya said NBSZ should be ready to overcome any emergency that may occur and appealed to members of the public to continue donating blood in their numbers.
“Apparently we are also encouraging people to go to our clinic at the Main Post Office (in Bulawayo) to help us in terms of making sure that we collect as much blood as possible. Come December we are saying we need to be up to the task and make sure we have enough blood stocks,” he said.
In July Zimbabwe started giving blood for free, hence Mr Ngwenya said, naturally demand has gone up.
“With the advent of blood being made free in all Government hospitals there has been an increase in demand. We are also encouraging adults, that please at all costs we are the ones who use much of the blood than the youth who donate so where possible those who are in a position to give we are asking them to come forth and donate,” he said.
NBSZ Bulawayo branch assistant manager (Lab and quality management) Mr Gibson Mutasa said there were 2 500 units of blood in stock.
“Currently in terms of numbers we are at 2 500 units of blood demand and according to our projections by festive season we need 3 000 units.
So it means we must collect more in order for us to meet demands of all the hospitals in the Matabeleland region. We must make sure we hold the quantities by the end of the year,” he said.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), in the last decade, disasters have caused more than one million deaths, with more than 250 million people being affected by emergencies every year.
Mr Mutasa said there was still a challenge in getting Blood O in the country.
“The major blood group which we need is Blood Group O because the bulk of our population is Blood Group O so you find that as we collect we are targeting more of this blood group but we are not saying we do not want the other blood groups,” he said.
Online Reporter