The Tribune

By Jeffarah Gibson

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

The call for blood donations will be an ongoing one for the Friends of the Blood Bank as they gear up for their next drive next month.

The organisation will once again team up with the College of Saint Benedict (CSB) and Saint John’s University (SJU) on June 22 at the Mall at Marathon from 10am to 5pm.

On June 14, World Blood Donor Day will be celebrated around the world. The event serves to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood and also to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations. The day will also be recognised locally.

Friends of the Blood Bank, CSB and SJU recently came together to host the “Save a Life” blood drive initiative. Those with the capacity and ability to donate were encouraged to do so.

A call was made for 60 pints of blood, however, the recent event only yielded 16 pints.

“A total of 16 pints of blood was collected for deposit at the PMH Blood Bank. If we had a little more time we could have collected an additional 10 pints of blood as some donors showed up after closing time,” said Denard Cleare of the Saint John’s University Alumni Association.

“There were many persons who were unable to donate after the screening process due to various reasons, but we commend and thank those persons who expressed the interest and willingness to give blood to help those in our community.”

Even though the ultimate goal this year was to collect 60 pints of blood, 16 pints was still a great result.

“We were only able to collect six pints at last year’s blood drive so after we made a venue change and doing a lot more public relations about the benefits of donating blood, we are quite happy at the end result,” said Mr Cleare.

Basil Christie, founder of Friends of the Blood Bank, said apart from the blood drive initiatives, people can regularly donate at the Blood Bank that is always in dire need of blood.

“Persons interested in donating can visit the Blood Bank at the Princess Margaret Hospital from Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am to 5.30 pm and on Saturday from 9am to 4.30pm. Additionally, the Blood Bank at Doctors Hospital is also available to donors for blood donations. The Blood Bank is open weekdays 9am to 8pm and weekends 9am to 4pm,” he said.