MamaYe in collaboration with National Safe Blood Services celebrated World Blood Donor Day in Makeni on June 14th.
MamaYe in collaboration with the National Safe Blood Services (NSBS) in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation celebrated World Blood Donor Day in Makeni on June 14thWorld Blood Donor Day this year was themed ' Safe Blood for Saving Mother’s’ and there was great emphasis on the importance of voluntary blood donation - particularly how donating blood saves the lives of mothers and babies. The morning began with jubilation at St. Francis High School in Makeni. An early start saw the gathering of nurses, midwives, students, police, and community members all lined up ready to parade around the city of Makeni educating and inspiring community members to donate blood. We all marched, led by a student ensemble band, for three hours around the city of Makeni, stopping to talk to community members, provide information about world blood donor day and more importantly how each person was capable of donating blood to save a life. The commemoration of world blood donor day ended at the Makeni community hall were the Mayor of Makeni spoke to his city, urging them to donate blood, demystifying the process of blood donation and encouraging voluntary blood donors to step up and the community to stop purchasing blood from individuals during emergencies. The rest of this week will see members of the National Safe Blood Services (NSBS) go from community to community to sensitize on the importance of blood donation and also collect as much blood from voluntary donors as possible. So here in Sierra Leone, we continue to speak about for the rest of the week highlighting the need for regular blood donation with an emphasis on contributing to save the lives of pregnant women who may need blood when they go to give birth. You can read more about the National Strategic Plan for Blood Safety in Sierra Leone 2011-2014