Johannesburg - The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) is appealing to the public to donate blood and boost blood supply ahead of the Christmas weekend, with stock levels at a critically low level.
The SANBS said on Thursday that the organisation had less than three days stock of group O blood.
“The SANBS is urgently appealing to all potential and existing blood donors that are due to donate to visit a SANBS donation site to donate their precious unit blood,” the non-profit organisation said.
The high number of road crashes during the holiday season results in blood being in higher demand than at any time of the year.
Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula released the preliminary festive season fatalities statistics yesterday and revealed that the country has experienced a 142% spike in crashes, compared to the same period last year, with multiple fatalities, resulting in 17 such crashes.
“The number of fatalities from major crashes also increased from 34 last year to 111 this year,” Mbalula said.
The SANBS said its Group O blood stocks had dropped significantly and the organisation was appealing to South Africans to donate a unit of blood in aid of those in need of it. This includes victims of car accidents.
Meanwhile, the SANBS said that like most organisations, the spread of Covid-19 has disrupted its functions and operations.
“Only 1% of the South African population are regular blood donors, and with blood collection having decreased significantly over the past two years because of various lockdown regulations, the SANBS has found it difficult to meet the demand for blood across the country,” said Dr Karin van den Berg, SANBS medical director.
“This is because of a reduced number of mobile blood drives at different facilities such as office parks, universities, and schools.”
She added that the low blood stocks affect people who lose blood due to accidents, chronically ill patients, mothers giving birth and those who are scheduled for surgeries.
The SANBS said that while the struggle for donors was a real one, there were other factors that contributed to low donor turnout such as misinformation, especially on social media.
The most common myths include that unvaccinated individuals cannot donate blood and Van den Berg said this myth is not true and anybody can donate blood.
“As long as you are healthy and meet all the qualifying criteria. The SANBS treats all donors the same and realises that the choice to get vaccinated or not is a personal one. Unvaccinated donors are still welcome if they do not show any Covid-19 symptoms and they have not been in contact with anybody who has tested positive for Covid-19,” she said.
Another myth was that vaccinated recipients receive vaccinated blood, while unvaccinated people receive unvaccinated blood.
“SANBS does not systematically record the vaccination status of donors and therefore does not have a system to separate blood from vaccinated and unvaccinated donors. Blood is provided equitably to all patients, whether vaccinated or not,” Van den Berg said.
SANBS added that the organisation does not test blood for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, nor for antibodies against the virus; receiving vaccinated blood does not mean that you are now vaccinated against Covid-19 and that there is currently no scientific evidence that proves that blood from vaccinated or unvaccinated donors will have any harmful impact on either vaccinated or unvaccinated patients.