E-NETWORKS INC., Guyana’s only locally owned telecommunications provider, in collaboration with the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS), held a blood drive at the company’s MovieTowne location, on Saturday, in light of World Blood Donor Day which will be observed on June 14, 2022.

Ashley John, Marketing Coordinator of E-Networks Inc. told the Sunday Chronicle that the company was aware of the limitations of the blood bank, and so, a decision was made to collaborate.
John also noted that the company was keen to fulfill its corporate social responsibility. She explained that E-Networks Inc., in the past, did an in-house blood drive with the NBTS but it was the first time the event was opened to the public.

“We want to encourage persons, even if they did not come to this blood drive, in particular, we want to encourage them to always reach out to the National Blood Transfusion Service in Guyana to donate there,” John said.
Tandika Dundas, a Registered Nurse at NBTS, shared with the Sunday Chronicle that they decided to host the blood drive to make sure an adequate amount of blood is provided for the public. The NBTS holds the responsibility of providing an adequate and safe amount of blood for both public and private hospitals in Guyana.

Dundas expressed that acquiring blood was a challenge for them as there were lots of myths about donating blood.
“Persons might have a lot of misconceptions about donation and they tend to be scared because of those misconceptions. Donating blood has a lot of benefits for the person who is the donor,” she said.

Dundas explained that donating blood reduces the risks of heart attacks and strokes, as well as, gives the donor a free check-up as they check for nine different blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis A, B, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and more.

“We check your blood pressure and temperature, to make sure that you have enough blood before you can donate,” she said.
Additionally, donating blood leads to a healthier lifestyle because a person is allowed to donate every two months, they wouldn’t want to be promiscuous.

Before donating, a person should meet the required 110 pounds, their blood count must be above 12.5 and they must be above 16 years of age, but a 16-year-old, with parental consent, can donate.
Dundas explained that people believe having tattoos or piercings would restrict them from donating but this is untrue.

“Once your tattoos and piercings are over a year old, you are eligible to donate blood,” she said.
Dundas shared that collecting blood was a hard task for NBTS because of the pandemic and the demand for blood was very high, so they wre grateful for the collaboration.