The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

The Public Hospitals Authority celebrated World Blood Donor Day on Friday by honoring a number of regular donors for their life-saving donations.

Among those celebrated were Assistant Commissioner of Police Warren Johnson and his wife. 

ACP Johnson said he and his wife donate blood about every two months, adding it’s always heartwarming when someone thanks them for their donation. 

“When you donate life, potentially in the case of the men, you have the opportunity to save three lives. In the case of my wife and I, we do this every two months and essentially that means, we’re able to affect four lives of individuals who may need our help,” he said.

“It’s a way of demonstrating God’s gift to us of life by helping others and if we’re serious about building this country in The Bahamas that we love so much, all of us should get involved and not wait until a family member or is in need of blood.”

Hedwig Goede, a PAHO representative, said although tremendous progress has been made to shore up blood supply regionally, the demand for blood continues to exceed supply.

“We know that volunteer blood donations is the cornerstone of safe and adequate blood supply and therefore there is need to really continue to motivate people to become a donor,” she added.

“For those of you unable to donate yourself, you can still contribute to the availability of safe blood by promoting voluntary donations because it’s always so that not everyone can donate and I would like to reassure you that PAHO would continue to co-operate with you, The Bahamas,… in strengthening universal access to high-quality safe blood and blood projects ”

Mary Walker, the hospital administrator at Princess Margaret Hospital, thanked the donors for putting service above themselves and encouraged them to continue giving blood.

She also had this message for the wider community: “ Blood donation is a very safe process and we encourage you to give more love to the persons in our community who need it.”

World Blood Donor Day is celebrated on June 14 annually to thank millions of blood donors worldwide.