Talent Gore
NATIONAL Blood Services Zimbabwe (NBSZ) has launched its festive season campaign to collect 13 300 units of blood by January 1 next year to ensure the country has adequate stocks of blood during the period.
NBSZ CEO, Lucy Marowa, said they were going to hold 81 blood donating sessions throughout the country to reach their target, with 20 collection sessions taking place in Harare, 10 in Bulawayo and Gweru, 17 in Masvingo and 16 in Mutare.
“We call upon the population of Zimbabwe to come together to donate blood in preparation for the festive season campaign,” she said.
“Year in and year out, we always do blood donor campaigns because statistics show that during the festive season, the need for blood is heightened due to a lot of accidents that happen not only on the roads, but even in our households.
As NBSZ, it is our responsibility to ensure that the nation has adequate stocks of blood during this season.”
“We hope that with all these sessions we will be able to reach our target and we estimate that this should be enough to take us through the month of January.”
She said last year they collected 59 300 units. “By June this year, we had already hit 63 000 units, which is more than the total collections for last year.
“Indications are great that we may actually meet our target for the year of 87 700 units.”