‘More blood donors needed in Malawi’
More blood donors are needed if the lives of Malawians at risk are to be saved.
British High Commissioner Michael Nevin said this in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, on Thursday when he donated blood alongside staff of the High Commission and the Department for International Development (DfID).
Said Nevin: “We urge everyone to consider giving blood and potentially save the life of someone who needs it.
“We ask companies and organisations to have blood donation days as we have done.”
Malawi Blood Transfusion Services (MBTS) chief clinic nurse Grace Jari said 80 000 units of blood were needed in 2011, but the organisation only got 51 000 units.
Central Region’s blood needs for the period beginning July 2012 to June 2013 is at 25 700 units, but over half the year, only 8 000 have been donated.
“There is a gap which translates to someone dying because of shortage of blood.
“Our target is 20 units per workplace, but that depends on the workforce and people’s willingness to donate blood,” Jari said.
MBTS normally gets blood from students during the school terms, but the amount drops when the students go on holidays, during which time the organisation solicits blood donations from companies and organisations.
