On this week’s episode of Sisters Without Shame, we celebrate blood donor month. Blood recipient, Zukiswa Mpoka, shares her story on how blood donation saved her life.
Mpoka, a deputy principal at a school in Bloemfontein, had to undergo several operations after doctors had discovered a tumour in her intestine in 2019.
“I thought it was something that was going to end soon but it persisted. Doctors suspected that I had a tumour in my intestines and I went for a colonoscopy. It was confirmed that I had a tumour that was growing in my intestine. I had to be operated on immediately, I was really, really sick,” she says.
She knows all too well about the gift of blood donation. “It was a major operation and it went well. As I was engaging with the doctor, he told me that I needed blood to survive.”
“I was telling a colleague of mine that if you donate blood, they test that blood. Even if you are not aware that you are sick, through blood donation they will manage to detect whatever sickness that you may have.”
Blood reserves low
Did you know that only 1% of Mzansi’s population are active donors?
June is dedicated to blood donors. Without them and their dedication to blood donation, lives would be lost.
Khensani Mahlangu, the communications officer for the South Africa National Blood Services (SANBS), shares details of the process and what it takes to be a healthy donor in South Africa.
SANBS is a non-profit organisation licensed to provide blood transfusion services to the population.
The current blood stock of the SANBS is at three days.
“Fortunately we have not reached a situation where we cannot provide safe blood when people are in need,” says Mahlangu.
“But the reality is that should we reach day zero, there is no substitute for blood, there is nothing we can manufacture, there is nothing else that can substitute blood.”
On this episode guests also examine:
- The processes involved in blood donation;
- Reluctance and how to overcome this; and
- Stigmas and fears of blood donation.
Listen to the full interview on Sisters Without Shame
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