IN observance of International Blood Donation Day, the National Blood Transfusion Service is expected to receive 12,000 units of blood from volunteers across Guyana.
This is according to Director of the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) Dr. Pedro Lewis who said that 80 percent or 9,600 units of blood will be given by volunteers residing in Demerara/Mahaica (Region Four).

This International Blood Donation Day is observed under the theme, ‘Safe blood for all’, in the global bid to raise awareness of the worldwide need for safe blood in the provision of health care, and the important role of voluntary donations in achieving the goal of worldwide health coverage.

Lewis indicated that the theme was also chosen to “encourage more people around the world to become donors and to make regular donations, actions that are the cornerstone to create a solid base on which to establish a sustainable blood supply at the national level that will allow the transfusion needs of all patients.”

Lewis added that the NBTS is in a very fortunate situation, especially in the Caribbean, since the country maintains “an excellent 100 percent record of voluntary donation.”
The NBTS Director attributed this to the strong sense of empathy among Guyanese.
“It’s a cultural thing,” Dr Lewis said explaining the endurance of volunteerism among the thousands of annual voluntary donors who back the country’s ongoing blood donation drives.
Lewis is calling for “more community involvement” in the process since the country is moving towards establishing a Trauma Centre at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Lewis posited, “We will need more blood to sustain a Trauma Unit,” as he made his pitch for a spike in grassroots support for the NBTS.
He applauded the 450 collaborators who would have helped organise the year-round, nation-wide blood donation drive necessary to maintain a sufficient blood supply and achieve worldwide and well-timed access to safe blood transfusions in the nation’s health system.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a stable base of regular voluntary, unpaid blood donors can assure an adequate and reliable supply of safe blood. “These donors are also the safest group of donors as the prevalence of blood-borne infections is lowest among this group,” WHO added.

In addition, World Health Assembly (WHA) is urging “all member states to develop national blood systems based on voluntary unpaid donations and to work towards the goal of self-sufficiency.”

WHO has been at the forefront to improve blood safety and availability with the aim of ensuring universal access to safe blood and blood products