In the Western Cape, 75% of the population will need blood or blood products in their lifetime.  However, only 1.5% of the population donates blood.  Considering this, the Western Province Blood Transfusion Service are calling on eligible and willing life savers to become blood donors.

The Western Province Blood Transfusion Service is currently experiencing a critically low blood stock level.  WPBTS only has enough stock for 2 days.

“WPBTS aims to maintain a blood stock level of 5 days at all times to ensure we meet the demands of the Western Cape.  However, our blood stocks have been steadily declining and have now reach a point where we only have 2 days of group O blood in the Western Cape, “ says Michelle Vermeulen, Corporate Public Relations Officer at WPBTS.

Every human has the right to safe blood when they need it as part of their medical treatment.  The Western Province Blood Transfusion Service has therefore taken hands with the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) in implementing a mass blood drive on Wednesday, 21 March 2018. 

We are calling on all new donors and lapsed donors (people who have not donated in the last 12 months) to come forward to donate blood.  Our group O stocks are currently extremely low and we would therefore like to appeal to those donors who know they are part of this group to donate blood.

People feel inspired when they see ordinary people doing extraordinaty things.  Donating blood is such an inspirational act.  Eveyone has a different reason for donating blood but it all boils down to someone doing something remarkable.  Someone gave of their time and of themselves to save up to three people’s lives.

#ShareYourStory with us.  We want to know what inspires you to donate blood and make a difference in someone else’s life.  Your story might very well be the inspiration needed for someone to make his/her first donation and also be remarkable.

The Western Province Blood Transfusion Service has been working hard to ensure that all measures are taken to reduce water usage as well as ensuring that we remain operational should Day Zero happen.

What has WPBTS done so far?

WPBTS abides by all the restrictions in accordance with Level 6B Water Restrictions, and this includes the following:

February is the month of love - it is the month we celebrate love in all its glory.  At the Western Province Blood Transfusion Services we could think of no better way to celebrate by donating blood.  We would therefore like to appeal to everyone to #ShareYourHeart during the month of love.

When you donate blood during February, remember to tag yourself on our Instagram page @wp_blood with the hashtag #ShareYourHeart.  We would love to see as many of our beloved donors’ photographs as possible.

The Western Province Blood Transfusion Service (WPBTS) and the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) are excited to partner with the FNB Varsity Cup and FNB Varsity Shield for the next three years.  The partnership will encourage all South Africans to #maketheteam.  Every donor (even those who don’t or didn’t attend the participating universities) will be able to participate by donating their blood on behalf of their favourite team.

The Western Province Blood Transfusion Service wishes to thank its blood donors for their support during the Festive Season.  Thanks to our remarkable donors we managed to receive 12 433 donations which resulted in saving the lives of more than 37 000 people.

January is the month when we reflect on the previous year and make New Year’s resolutions.  It’s a time for new challenges and breaking old habits.  Make blood donation one of your New Year’s resolutions and commit to donating blood at least four times in 2018.  This is a resolution that’s easily achievable and you can save up to 12 people’s lives with four donations!

New youth donors are vital to the sustainability of the WPBTS blood donor database, as each year the need for blood and blood products rise and we therefore need to increase our active donor base. WPBTS forges good ties with educational institutions and set up blood donation clinics at them. The majority of schools host blood donation clinics once every term.