Volunteer blood donors, who do it readily without any persuasion or inducement have increased by 30 per cent at the Nakuru Regional Blood Bank, and more locals have been urged to imitate the positive deeds so that the country can have adequate blood stocks.
The Nakuru Regional Blood Bank Manager Ms Irene Orgut, said unlike in the past, wananchi have appreciated and grasped the importance of donating blood to save lives, and day by day they have noted a growth of such donors. She was speaking today during an interview with KNA at the Blood Bank.
The blood expert said the few volunteer donors were positively changing the negative culture towards donating blood, and she commended the local ambassador Alpha Sanya, who has recruited a lot of donors through personal initiatives.
She said it was unfortunate that whenever a sick person requires blood, their family and friends often spent crucial time seeking out donors on social media, putting up an urgent appeal for whatever type of blood was required.
In addition, she said as much as such requests are in most cases honoured, it was a time-consuming exercise that delays treatment and surgeries that cannot be done without blood being available.
Last year, the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Services stunned the nation when they said they had only collected 16 per cent of the one million units the country needs.
However, Ms Orgut said the huge margin was occasioned by the coronavirus and due to the lockdowns and other protocols, they weren’t able to carry out their monthly campaigns at schools and colleges.
She extolled the volunteer local donors and said one of them was the chairman of Boda Boda operators, Samuel Munyiri, who has managed to organize various blood donation drives for his members.
Also, she said next month they will host a Boda Boda drive week to sensitize them on the importance of replicating their chairman’s positive attitude towards blood donation.
By Veronica Bosibori
