Safe Blood Starts with Me - libdoc.who.int - World Health Organization

I will not forget Mr Goodluck, lying on theGround, bleeding profusely. We took himTo Silveira. Where Dr Mitchell startedBy saying ‘he needs blood’.I will not forget my brother Jena, noseBleeding and losing several litres ofblood.We took him to hospital, where he wasGiven blood.I used to ask myself a silly question“Where do these doctors get the bloodfrom?”Do we have a lake full of blood?Do we have a river full of blood?Do we have a dam full of blood?No, No, No, blood comes from youSons and daughters of ZimbabweLet’s donate blood to rescue ourrelativesAnd friends before they die.By denying patients your bloodYou will be murdering somebodyindirectlyLet’s donate blood.Oswell Ushe4A, Simbaravanhu Secondary Schoolchildren. Therecognitionbestowed onprovincial schoolsthat donate thehighest number ofblood units as aratio of their eligibleblood donor populationis intended tomotivate youngpeople, the future ofany blood bank, tocontinue donatingblood. It also aims toencourage youngpeople to minimizerisk-takingbehaviours thatcould lead tocontracting bloodtransmissibleinfections.To mark theoccasion, all schoolsorganized colourfulpupil-led eventssuch as drama,songs and poemshighlighting the SafeBlood theme.Community leaders, traditionaland political leaders and pupilsfrom neighbouring schoolsattended all these activities, andpupils, teachers and headmastersgave interviews to local radio,television, and newspapers ontheir beliefs about safe bloodprovision and healthy living. It isworth noting that of the eightwinner schools in 1999, four ofthem were girls only schools.Special funds were allocated toensure that school children couldparticipate in the events.Pledge 25Zimbabwe’s youth realized earlythat their future is in their ownhands. This is why, some yearsago, a project was launched by theyouth themselves which hassignificantly contributed to thesuccess of the nation’s safe bloodsupply. The project, already beingemulated in neighbouringcountries, is called “Pledge 25”.HIV caused Blood TransfusionServices across the world torethink seriously their blood donorrecruitment strategies and, in1989, Zimbabwe started targetingan as-yet untapped pool of lowriskdonors: school-children aged16–19. However, history provedthat—successful as theprogramme was—most schoolblood donors ceased to donateregularly upon leaving school.Pledge 25 was therefore createdby and for school leavers, whopledged to make at least 25 blooddonations after leaving school.Members also actively shareinformation and knowledge withother current and prospectivedonors and, in this way, help topromote healthy lifestyles andreduce the amount of infectedblood collected. The first group ofmembers to graduate were salutedat the NBTS Annual GeneralMeeting on 6 September 2000,and many of the pioneers areconsidering the formation of a“Pledge 50” division.The Club elects national andprovincial administrativecommittees to ensure the runningof their affairs. Selected PeerDonor Promoters now assist the21 ▲ WORLD HEALTH DAY ▼ SAFE BLOOD STARTS WITH ME