The South
African National Blood Service is aware of the ongoing protest action taking
place in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) this morning, affecting their mobile blood
drives negatively.
“We have had to cancel and postpone/change some scheduled
blood drive dates and times. We anticipate this will continue to negatively
affect our blood collections this week as we won’t be able to collect
sufficient blood units that were scheduled for this week,” the SANBS said in a statement.
“With the rising
COVID-19 infection rates, we anticipate added pressure on our blood stocks in
coming weeks. We encourage donors to continue to visit our fixed donor centres
where they can still donate blood. Our operations are continuing as normal and
all measures are being taken to protect our employees, donors and all
stakeholders.”
Donors in
affected areas are urged to take caution when travelling to donate blood.
To be
eligible to donate blood, you must:
- Be between the ages of 16 and 75 years
- Weigh 50kg or more
- Be in good health
- Lead a healthy lifestyle
- Consider your blood safe for transfusion to a
patient - Commit to donating blood regularly
To find out
more about where you can donate blood, visit sanbs.org.za or call 0800 11 90 31. Connect with them on Twitter (@theSANBS),
Facebook (@SANBS) and Instagram (@thesanbs).
