THE National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) collaborated with the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday to host a blood drive which saw staff of the Agriculture Ministry as well as secondary school students and other members of the public donating blood in the boardroom of that ministry, on Regent Road in Georgetown.

Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle, coordinator of the blood drive and Principal Assistant Secretary (PAS) of the Agriculture Ministry, Joylyn Nestor-Burrowes, explained that the National Blood Transfusion Service wrote the Agriculture ministry requesting the staff to donate blood, and the staff responded positively.

She pointed out that this is not the first time the Agriculture Ministry is hosting a blood drive, and its staff members always respond in a positive and enthusiastic manner in donating blood.

According to her, an invitation was also extended to all the departments of the ministry located in the Georgetown district, which has a total of approximately 150 staff members.

Also speaking to the Guyana Chronicle, blood donor recruiter of the National Blood Transfusion Service, Mr. Orwyn Richmond, noted that the NBTS depends on the voluntary donations of Guyanese everywhere; and with this in mind, the NBTS has sought to engage ministries as well as non-governmental organisations to join them in hosting blood drives.

He explained that during these blood drives, they perform health checks to ensure that potential donors meet the minimum requirements to safely donate one unit of blood.

According to him, if the persons meet the requirements, the NBTS uses its mobile station to receive the one unit of blood into a blood bag system, which would be taken back to the blood bank and made available for use in all of the hospitals in the country, both public and private.

Also present at the blood drive were Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy; Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Ali Baksh; and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. George Jervis.