Malawi Blood Transfusion Services (MBTS) says it targets to collect 140 000 units of blood to restock the national blood bank for the year 2025/26.
MBTS blood donor manager Mervis Chirwa said in an interview on the sidelines of a panel discussion marking the local World Blood Donor Day commemoration in Lilongwe on Friday.
She said for the year 2024/25, the target was to collect 130 000 units of blood, but they only collected 112 740 units.
Chirwa said: “At the moment, we don’t have stable blood stocks in our national blood bank because many people are still scared to donate blood due to myths and hearsays surrounding blood donation.
“It is mostly the youth, especially those in schools aged 16 to 25 who donate blood and this happens only when schools are in session. We are encouraging the working class to be generous and find time to donate blood as well.”
The panel discussion was co-organised with the Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) under the theme ‘Give blood, give hope: Together we save lives’.
MRCS head of health and social services Dan Banda said blood is needed every day to save lives of women in labour, cancer and malaria patients as well as those involved in serious accidents.
“There is no point where we can say we have enough blood because our health facilities are ever overwhelmed by the demand for blood. We always need safe blood to save lives,” he said.
Panellists during the discussion included representatives from the Ministry of Health, WHO, MBTS, blood donors and beneficiaries of blood donations.
World Blood Donor Day is commemorated annually on June 14 to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank blood donors for their voluntary and life-saving gifts of blood.
The first commemoration was held in 2004 by the WHO, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Federation of Blood Donor Organisations (IFBDO) and the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT).
According to WHO, the commemoration is also a timely moment to address continued challenges and accelerate progress towards a future where safe blood transfusion is universally accessible.
