Shootings, stabbings and road crashes are among serious illnesses that are placing sustained pressure on Barbados’ blood supply, with health officials warning that consistent, voluntary donations are critical to keeping lifesaving reserves at safe levels.
The appeal came during the launch of National Blood Donor Month activities at the Barbados National Blood Collection Centre, Ladymeade Gardens, Jemmotts Lane, where the women’s lifestyle brand and community organisation Egi Women and partners officially acknowledged World Blood Donor Day with a blood drive.
“We have had a lot of murders and other unfortunate incidents this year and that has really, really stretched us,” said senior blood collecting technician Wendy Lorde.
“We here at the blood collecting centre are busy every day, but as busy as we are, the blood bank is always crying out that they want this or they want that. If you respond to giving blood regularly, we know that we would be able to answer that call.”
Lorde reminded Barbadians that blood has a limited shelf life and requires continual replenishment.
“Blood only lasts 35 days. And if you think that that is a long time, just consider if you put your money in the bank and only put $35, how many times you can go to draw this $35. So we want persons to give continually so that the blood bank would constantly have blood.”
Founder of Egi Women, Gina Cummins, said the initiative has grown through partnerships with organisations committed to making blood donation more accessible and routine.
“We’re so happy today to be working with the National Blood Collection Centre. This is our fourth time working with them as we acknowledge World Blood Donor Day,” she said.
“Today we have so many partners standing behind this national initiative.”
Among those partners were Sagicor, ride-hailing app PickUp Barbados powered by PwC East Caribbean, Emergency Ambulance Services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Barbados Fire Service, the Lions Club of Barbados and Courtesy Garage Limited.
PickUp Barbados helped remove one of the barriers to donation by funding transport to and from the centre free of cost, said Cummins.
“We want to encourage the … wider corporate Barbados to get on board. Encourage your team members to join the national initiative to donate blood because giving blood saves lives.”
The impact of dwindling blood supplies is also being felt on the front lines of healthcare.
“We have definitely had an uptick of the trauma cases but also an uptick of our cancer patients who are heavily reliant on blood donations,” said Dr Shantel Young-Boyce of the Emergency Ambulance Service as both trauma victims and cancer patients increasingly depend on donors’ generosity.
“So anything that you can do to encourage yourself or your colleagues to come give, it is of benefit not only to you but it might be of benefit to a friend, a family, a friend of a friend.”
The country’s most dedicated blood donor, John “Ricky” Wilson, who has given blood for four decades, used the occasion to appeal for more people to become voluntary donors rather than waiting until a relative needs help.
“I’ve been giving for the last 40 years. Started at 18. I give every three months once everything is good,” he said.
“What we really need is more, more voluntary donors. So it takes that burden off persons when they have a family member who’s sick to think about giving blood.”
Wilson revealed that Friday’s donation marked 138 units of blood and hopes to reach 150 before retiring.
“If you are scared to give blood, you could reach out to Miss Lorde and she could reach out to me and I can come… and I can sit with you and walk you through the process, hold your hand, crack some jokes and make it easy for you.”
He also urged Barbadians to know their blood type and support loved ones before emergencies arise.
“You can always find six persons to lift a casket for you. You should be able to find three persons to donate.”
Representatives from the private sector also pledged their support.
“It really is a worthwhile cause and initiative and it’s one of the easier ones that we can do to give back to the community,” said general manager of Courts Garage Limited, Andrez Green.
“We’ll definitely be encouraging all of our team members to come out and support. And at the end of the day, we all know someone at some point in time who will be deserving of this.”
PickUp Barbados representative Hannah Gill reported that the free transport initiative benefited dozens of donors.
“We’re very happy with the turnout this year. We had over 20 donors take advantage of the new rides,” she said.
“We just want to encourage everybody to donate if you can.”
Although World Blood Donor Week has ended, organisers said the campaign continues throughout National Blood Donor Month and beyond, with eligible donors encouraged to give every three months to help maintain a stable blood supply for patients across Barbados.
Lorde said: “So you have time that you can come out, and if you want to start on your birthday, that would be a good thing to start. You want to start on a special day for somebody where you don’t have to go in town and buy your gift, you can come and give a unit of blood.”
(LE)
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