With festive season fast approaching, and with it a high number of accidents and violent incidents, local social club Team Shanghai hosted a blood donation initiative last weekend to help out the Lesotho blood bank which has on numerous occasions bemoaned the shortage of blood supplies in clinics
The founder of Team Shanghai, Monare Mokhathali, says their mission is to contribute to social coherence, address social problems and involve in community developments.
Mokhathali said they had noted the Lesotho Blood Transfusion Services (LBTS) and Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital’s (Tṧepong) numerous calls for blood donations as they were running low on blood supplies for patients. Tṧepong had also gone on recording as indicating that the blood shortages delayed performance of operations on patients and other life-saving medical procedures.
“We took it upon ourselves as a club to encourage young people specifically to become blood donors; to our surprise, the response was phenomenal.
“One hundred and twenty six came forward but 101 units of blood were collected; the rest could not go ahead with the donation for various health issues. It was really a big turn out that we did not expect. We know that the blood will be beneficial to those who desperately need it.
“Blood donors are important because every minute there is someone in hospital in need of blood transfusion, which is the process of transferring blood or blood products into one’s circulation intravenously; transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood.
“For example, a patient may have been involved in a car accident, or it could be a mother who lost a lot of blood from giving birth. Anyone of us or our loved ones could find ourselves in such a position. So, donate blood today and help someone; who knows, maybe someone could help you tomorrow,” he also said.
Mokhathali further indicated that the small amount (500ml) that a person donates, has a potential to save up to three lives, which should be motivation enough to donate blood.
“I hope people can realise that health issues are serious and if there is one like lack of blood that can be solved, people should chip in and help.”
There are many reasons patients need blood. A common misunderstanding about blood usage is that accident victims are the patients who use the most blood. Actually, people needing the most blood include those being treated for cancer, undergoing orthopedic surgeries, undergoing cardiovascular surgeries and being treated for inherited blood disorders.
