We as humans have blood running through our body but there are some of us who have less and need more in order for them to survive.
Blood is one important ingredient that cannot be manufactured by any manmade machines, blood has no market where one can go and sell or buy from as such the only source of blood is humans.
Since the only source where we can get blood is human, it becomes very difficult for people to go to the hospitals voluntarily to donate blood.
As the world celebrates World Blood Donor Day on the theme, “safe blood for saving mothers”, the National Blood Transfusion services under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is calling on the entire Gambian Populace to come out voluntarily and donate blood, not for the benefit of the ministry of health but for our own benefit particulary women and children.
According to Margaret Gomez, chief nursing officer at the EFSTH, a woman was referred to the hospital with clotting defect.
She said normally if the patient started to bleed during, before or after delivery and when that happens, they need ten to fifteen piles of blood. Or Ten to fifteen people donating blood so that the woman can deliver safely.
“I admitted the patients, and after delivery, there was the placenta and a huge clot was coming out and the patient was bleeding. I decided to rush to the lab to get blood but I was able to get only one pile of blood. It was around 10 and I could see the woman dying. We did everything but to no avail and by 12:30 midday the woman died,” said Madam Gomez.
“That woman was part of many women that died giving birth due to lack of blood in our blood bank,” she said.
“It was known that men would come to the hospital with their wives and when the nurses talk to them about blood, some of them would pull out money, saying they want to buy blood when there is no market for blood.
“Blood is not for sale, the only thing we can do to produce it is by donating. We humans are the machine that produces blood, no other machine but us.”
The woman you love so much is pregnant for you, you have that joy of becoming a father, and you should complete the joy of being a father by donating more than a pile of blood to see her safe delivery.
It is a misconception that when we donate blood, the relevant authorities sell it. The authorities said blood is not for sale and anyone caught doing it will be dealt with severely.
We need blood in our everyday life. It is the ingredient in our body that helps us stand on our feet. Blood whether we believe it or not is lacking in our health facility and you will not know that until when you or your relative is dying in need of blood.
World Blood Day celebration is not a day to clap and dance, it is a day for us to come out as people, as citizens and as loving husbands to donate blood, enough safe blood in our blood bank to save the lives of our dear wives while they are in labour.
Bleeding to save a life is not a waste, for the “life you will save may be yours.”
We have witnessed lots of cases of accident, bad ones for that matter, and all those patients involved need more than a pile of blood.
We have anaemic patients, they too need blood, children with hemorrhage need blood, pregnant women at the time of their pregnancy till delivery need blood.
Everyone could donate blood, be it male or female but particularly men and husbands that shy away from donating blood should come on board to donate blood, if not for anything but for the love of their wives and the unborn child.
It seems African men don’t have the time to be present when their wives are delivering, instead they send their wives to hospital with a very old woman, in such a case when the wife needs blood it will be very difficult if the blood bank is dry.
The health authorities are therefore calling on men to accompany their wives to the hospital during delivery so that when the need arises they could tackle it together.
The ministry of health and the National Blood Transfusion Services would be celebrating World Blood Donor Day on 14 June 2014 at Basse URR.
They are urging everyone to come out and donate blood. A loving husband cannot stand seeing his wife in pain talk less of death, if you are one of those husbands donate a blood and save your wife from dying while giving birth.
If you are a lady, you can donate as well and save a mother from dying while giving birth.
