Young people saving lives

Teenagers from across the country came together to donate blood and socialise with their peers last Saturday at the National Blood Services’ Pledge 25 men splash.
This club caters for students and those who recently left school, to have a chance to save lives as mostly the young people make up the healthy and strong populace. The only manufacturing of blood is done by the human body and with the recent reports of blood shortages in hospitals the young people must be commended for taking the lead.

The move by the young people of Zimbabwe to form club 25 has changed trends on blood donor recruitment worldwide. The Pledge 25 Club concept with its origins from National Blood Services Zimbabwe has been proudly adopted globally by over 62 countries as Club 25.

The theme for this year’s blood drive is “Light Up a Lamp of Life, Donate Blood” The first young people blood drive for these young men was held on 2 March in Bulawayo while other centres  hosted the same event a week later.

This year’s events are anticipated to yield more because the club has set its targets to surpass all its previous records.  The mission of the club is to consistently provide low risk and adequate blood and contribute to the overall well-being of the nation through innovative, cost effective young people-oriented activities. The Pledge 25 Club envisions leading in the contribution of an HIV free and healthy community through a culture of voluntary non-remunerated blood donation. This is achieved through an ultimate goal of contributing to a healthy nation through the active participation of young people. The spread of HIV in the 80’s caused blood services across the world to seek new strategies to collect the safest blood possible. A variety of strategies have been implemented and in some cases costly and sophisticated advertising campaigns have resulted in dismal failures, while others have had limited success. However the Pledge 25 Club Initiative has impacted positively on the lives of many young men and women in Zimbabwe by ensuring that they lead a low risk life so that they remain safe blood donors.

Members of the club have taken up an active role in educating each other on the importance of abstinence, refraining from drug and alcohol abuse.

Other young people have managed to continue to shine on the national and international arena as evidenced by the number of students attending universities and colleges. – CL Reporter.