Every 14 June of each year, World Blood Donor Day is always observed. It is a day to raise awareness about the importance of donating blood and appreciate blood donors across the world. It aims to promote voluntary, safe, and regular blood donations to ensure a sufficient blood supply to those in need.
On Wednesday, South Sudan joined the rest of the world to mark World Blood Donor Day under the theme “Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often”. The day highlights the critical role of blood donors in saving lives and encourages more people to become regular blood donors.
The commemoration of the event took place at the Public Health Blood Bank in Juba and was followed by the donation of blood and sharing of testimonies from regular blood donors and recipients.
Minister of Health, Yolanda Awel Deng paid tribute to people who regularly donate blood while speaking at the event. “We are not doing enough awareness campaigns about donating blood, she said. There are a lot of people in this country who could donate blood but the word is not reaching out properly, that challenge I accept.”
“That challenge is to all of us in the health sector, partners, donors, and everybody in the health. We accept the challenge to make sure that we reach more audiences,” she added. She further appealed to musicians to compose songs that encourage people to donate blood.
She bemoaned the horrendous working conditions of the blood bank employees, who put in long hours for meager remuneration noting that “empowering the blood transfusion facilities across South Sudan is very crucial and empowering the staff who works in these facilities is important.”
The minister added that sometimes they work for long hours, sometimes they are called beyond their working time because of emergencies and they turn to beggars for people to donate blood.” she called on the citizens to take ownership of blood donation because no one needs to be forced as it is an act of patriotism.
On her part, Dr. Mutale Senkwe, a representative of the World Health Organization said the demand for blood and blood products continues to grow due to several factors including increased maternal complications, child malnutrition, trauma due to violence, and medical procedures.
She acknowledged the vital role played by unpaid, voluntary blood donors who help save many lives and asserted that giving blood is a gesture of solidarity that helps reduce the strain on the healthcare system.
Dr. Senkwe said “ According to the WHO, 1 percent of the population needs to donate blood to meet the annual requirement. Under this principle, in South Sudan, we should be collecting an estimated 120,000 units for the population that we are saving,” adding that “What we are currently seeing is a donation of 15 units per day which translate to 5,475 and this is a minimal amount compared to the 120,000 units required.”