SVG Blood Bank calls for more volunteer donors

Persons in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are being called

upon to become more benevolent and volunteer to become blood donors.

The call has come from the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital Pathology Laboratory, as they celebrated World Blood Donor Day.{{more}}

Supervisor of the Blood Bank, Dalrie Cole-John told the gathering that there has been a decrease in the number of donations that have been made to the blood bank by voluntary donors.

“The voluntary blood donor plays an important role in saving the lives of our mothers and children around the world,” Cole-John told the gathering. “More than half million women die every year due to complications in pregnancy and child birth,” she continued.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is one of the many countries that depend on blood donations from the family and friends when patients need transfusions.

“Voluntary blood donors are the key to ensuring that safe blood is available to every patient who needs it wherever they may be,” Cole-John stated.

Cole-John highlighted that over the last two years, most donations were made by family donors since there has been a decrease in the number of voluntary donors.

According to her, in 2005 there was a total of 1,035 donors to the blood bank, 115 of whom were voluntary donors while in 2006, there was an increase in the number of donors to 1121, 77 of whom were voluntary donors.

The Blood Bank, which is in the process of working towards 100% voluntary donations, is currently at a mere 6.9% and is 93.1% away from obtaining such goal. In order to achieve this goal Cole-John is of the opinion that we should all work together.

“We need to join hands in recruiting our voluntary blood donors, and encourage the family donors to become voluntary donors,” Cole-John stated. “Let us remind them how their love ones have benefited from the gift of blood,” she continued.

Also addressing the gathering was the Technical Head of Department, Dr. St. Clair Thomas, who congratulated the voluntary donors for their support to the hospital and urged them to continue donating blood as it will help to save someone else’s life.

The top ten donors were awarded with prizes based on the frequency of voluntary blood donation over the period 2005-2006. Donald Culzac was the person who gave the most donations, followed by Calvin Cato and Michael Thomas.

World Blood Donor Day was celebrated on Thursday, June 14 under the theme “Safe Blood for Safe Motherhood.” (SB)