Sixteen donors from the Southern Cape were duly honoured for milestone donations at a special function of the Western Province Blood Transfusion Service (WPBTS). They each donated 150 or more units of blood over many years.
One of the star donors, Johan Muller, started donating 43 years ago in 1968 and has dona-ted 208 units to date. He said that it is satisfying to know that he has helped more than 800 people by the giving of his blood. (One unit of blood - about 450ml - can help up to three people with various blood products).
Encouraging others to start donating, Muller said, "I feel physically good after donating blood and when I was younger, I even used to play rugby afterwards. It does not have a negative effect on your health and I'll recommend it to anyone."
Also among the guests were a couple from Still Bay who met in the '60s over a pint of blood, so to speak. Christina Kitching, who has donated 100 units and her husband Noel who has donated 123 units, met at the blood transfusion service in Pretoria where they were both donors. Mr Kitching is still a donor, but his wife has had to stop for health reasons.
Giving an overview of the finances of the WPBTS, Administrative Director Dr Greg Bellairs explained that the service is growing steadily, but that it faces a number of challenges every year in being able to make blood available at a price that is aligned with the CPI. One of these is being able to attract and retain skilled staff; in addition, the service has also been investing in new infrastructure and research to accommodate the growth of the organisation.
Remarkable growth
Outgoing CEO Dr Arthur Bird, who has been at the helm of the service for 23 years, said in his speech that the George office, which services the Southern Cape, has grown remarkably during the last two decades. From collecting 4 000 to 5 000 units per year in the '90s it reached 12 000 units last year, with the target being upped to 14 500 units for 2012.
HIV window period
Bird said major advances in blood safety have been made in the last few decades. The infectious window period for HIV, which was about six weeks in the '90s, was reduced remarkably since the introduction in 2005 of new sensitive technology which detects the genome of HIV and hepatitis viruses. No HIV window period transmission has been recorded by the national or Western Cape service since 2005, indicating that the HIV window period, "if not closed, is slightly ajar," said Bird.
Bird will be stepping down as CEO and is to be followed up by Bellairs in June this year.
The celebration took place at the Oubaai Hyatt Regency Hotel, where a buffet was served. In addition to the framed certificates that the milestone donors received, the occasion was a fitting way of thanking them for their generosity and sacrifice of time. They are true life savers.
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Dr Arthur Bird (far left) with donors who have donated 175 units, (from left) Sybrand Niemand, Pieter Badenhorst, Patrick Rogers and John Webb.
ARTICLE AND PHOTOS: ALIDA DE BEER, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
