Today is World Blood Donor Day and anyone interested in giving the gift of life is encouraged to visit the Health Services Authority soon. After all one pint of blood can save up to three lives.
World Blood Donor Day in Cayman focuses on encouraging young people to give blood. Doing his part for the worthy cause, Mathew Yates squeezes the hand ball while med lab technicians Windel Smith and Sashoy Forbes take blood. Photo: Jewel Levy |
Observed annually the world over, WBDD is meant to inspire people to give blood and to thank those who already give so generously.
This year’s international theme is ‘Safe Blood for Safe Motherhood’, however in Cayman WBDD will also continue focus on increasing the number of young donors, said the Chairman of the Blood Donation Service Carl Brown
‘Since last year we have campaigned to encourage the next generation to become blood donors.
‘Young people are the next generation of blood donors and at present they are the largest clientele needing blood bank donations,’ he advised.
Mr. Brown said youngsters are being targeted as they are the age group that shows up most in accident and trauma statistics.
Others most in need of blood donations are surgery, dialysis and cancer patients.
Mr. Brown said the drive to encourage young donors began from last year. He said its success was largely due to the Youth Flex radio interview with Miss North Dakota who’d made blood donation her platform during her reign.
‘Youth donations took off from then and we’ve had so far an approximately 150 per cent increase in donations among the 18 to 22-year-old group…. With the increase in their awareness. We would like blood donation to become a right of passage for young people in this community,’ he added.
HSA Pathologist Dr. John Heidingsfelder said, despite recent successes, the community should guard against complacency.
‘Blood donation is quite literally a gift of life. If you need blood you need it desperately and you need it now. If it’s not available you will die,’ he said.
Cayman has 743 active card-carrying donors. This figure represents 1.4 per cent of the overall population of 53,000 residents. Judith Clarke said that the highest number of active donors was in 1999, when Cayman had 896 donors. She added that figure had reflected the perceived systems threat posed by the Millennium/Y2K bug.
To give
To become a donor and give blood call 244-2674/2669. The HSA’s blood bank is open 8.30am to 5pm Monday through Friday on the second floor of the hospital.
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