Activists in blood donation drive

By The Voice On Nov 5, 2021

Round Table Botswana will tomorrow spearhead a blood donation campaign dubbed“ Blood Brothers” in a bid to collect the much needed blood units for hospitals and other health facilities. The campaign which is held in collaboration with Cresta Hotels and Botswana National Blood Transfusion Centre is scheduled to take place at Cresta Lodge in Gaborone on…

Round Table Botswana(RTB) will tomorrow (Saturday) spearhead a blood donation campaign dubbed “Blood Brothers” in a bid to collect the much needed blood units for hospitals and other health facilities.

The campaign which is held in collaboration with Cresta Hotels and Botswana National Blood Transfusion Centre (BNBTC) is scheduled to take place at Cresta Lodge in Gaborone on November 6th from 9am until 3pm.

Shortage of blood in Botswana is said to be a major concern which the government has struggled to address over the years.

Campaigns for blood donations have in the past experienced lukewarm public reception amid depleting blood bank levels which are now said to have dropped to critical levels.

According to available statistics, about 45 000 units of blood are needed annually, which means on monthly basis the country needs 3750 units.

Despite the huge demand, BNBTC can only gather about 2700 on average per month.

According to Round Table Botswana spokesperson, Foster Manyaapelo, they saw it fit to embark on a nationwide blood donation campaign in response to the crisis.

“This blood is critical for women in maternity, surgeries, people in accidents and other patients. We are in need of all blood groups more especially blood group O as it is a universal donor. So we urge people to represent their blood groups and save lives .Our target is to get 100 units on the on the day,” said Manyaapelo.

Manyaapelo further said the idea is to cover areas where RTB is present including neighboring villages.

With the first campaign starting in Gaborone, more will be rolled out to places such as Jwaneng, Orapa, Francistown, Maun and Kasane.

RTB is a service club of young men and women aged between 18 and 40 with the aim to make impactful change in the communities they live in and throughout Botswana.

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