WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER

In November 2012, we featured the South African National Blood Service for the first time and highlighted to our readers the endeavours of this organization. Now, almost a year on we spoke with their CEO, DR. Loyiso Mpuntsha to find out about their latest campaigns and how 2013 has been.

FINGER ON THE Pulse

However, a reliable supply of blood means that patients

can undergo surgery, women in labour can receive blood

transfusions and victims of accidents or violence can get

the emergency treatment they need. Tying together South Africa’s

medical and emergency care system the South Africa National Blood

Service (SANBS) acts as the guardian responsible for the collection,

screening and distribution of the blood in South Africa.

Founded in 2001 SANBS has grown impressively in the last

twelve years and stayed at the very cutting edge of the technology

available to their industry. Utilizing high-tech facilities and the most

stringent safety procedures to protect both donors and staff, they are

seen world over as the leaders in their field.

“As we are a not-for-profit organisation which is free from

shareholders,” DR. Mpuntsha tells us, “We are able to re-invest any

surplus we make back into the organisation and to continue improving

our service.”

Campaigns keep the pulse moving in this machine and a constant

drive to keep people aware of the new for blood keeps every one of

the 2400 people working for SANBS very busy. In fact we were very

lucky to get the opportunity to speak with DR. Mpuntsha who is one

of the busiest people in the business.

“We are involved in a number of big pushes at the moment, the

main ones are the winter season campaign, the Festive Season

Campaign, the Youth Campaign, and the Schools (Adopt-a-month)

campaign,” she tells us.

Rolled out across 30 branches nationwide, with use of many

mobile blood banks stationed in shopping centres, holiday resorts and

secondary schools and with the government supporting them with

backing for their campaigns to encouraging blood donorship they get

20% more blood than they did in 2001 through endeavour such as this.

“The duration of the campaigns range from a few weeks to a year

depending on the focus and implementation period of the campaign,”

Thapelo Mokoena the marketing director at SANBS, “The goals of the

campaign also differ: For example , the Festive season campaign is

meant to remind and mobilise blood donors to donate blood during

the festive period, and not only concentrate in their busy festive lives.

“The schools campaign is directed at educating school pupils about

blood donation and in turn inspiring them to encourage their parents to

donate blood. The winter season campaign encourages blood donors

and potential blood donors to make time to donate in spite of the cold

weather conditions which may affect their health and lifestyles. The

Youth campaign aims to educate youth from the age of 16 to understand

the value and importance of donating blood, so that they can continue

with the culture of donating blood later in their lives”

South Africa is a diverse country and one of the most complex

social structures in Africa. With eleven official languages and nine

provinces, a vast landscape of cities and rural areas to contend with,

the planning of campaigns has to be down to the smallest margin and

yet remain flexible to handle any eventuality.

“Each campaign is planned on a targeted and segmented basis,

Every year thousands of South Africans, mostly children and teenagers, are diagnosed with blood disorders such as leukaemia, marrow failure and aplasia. There is hope, a diagnosis of this kind is not always life-threatening and there is the chance of the patient undergoing a successful bone marrow stem cell transplant from a healthy bone marrow stem cell donor. The Sunflower Fund, with the help of committed local and international funders, corporates and the general South African public, is increasing this HOPE every year and building a STATE ASSET to help future generations of leukaemia sufferers. With HOPE, leukaemia is no longer the DEATH SENTENCE that it was over 30 years ago.

The Sunflower Fund’s mission is to educate and recruit a viable source of well-informed potential bone marrow stem cell donors who are ethnically diverse, in an effort to save the lives of those

needing a transplant when suffering from life-threatening blood disorders. It strives to maintain the associated donor records of the South African Bone Marrow Registry.

The Sunflower Fund was formed in 1999 in support of the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) and was inspired by 17 year old Chris Corlett’s heroic struggle against leukaemia. It was formed by Founder Director, Tina Botha (Chris Corlett’s Mother) and other parents whose children had contracted leukaemia, and in some cases had lost their battle against it. The Sunflower Fund would like to encourage the public to join the South African Bone Marrow Registry or to assist by funding the expensive tissue typing tests which cost The Sunflower Fund R2000 per donor that registers. Together we can save many more lives by offering young patients the opportunity to a life-saving bone marrow stem cell transplant.

To make a direct donation visit Given Gain or for more information go to www.sunflowerfund.org.za Toll-free number if dialling from South Africa: 0800 12 10 82

If dialling internationally call: 0027 21 7010661

Share a Little, Save a LifeBecome a bone marrow stem cell donor today

The Sunflower Fund Full Page.indd 1 30/07/2013 09:59

SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL BLOOD SERVICE (SANBS)

Considering that blood supply is the single most used resource in every hospital worldwide it is easy to forget that it has to be donated. Considering that some South African cities are in the top ten of the most violent cities in the world and that 16.6% of the country’s adults have HIV you can immediately see the challenge that this organization faces.

Endeavour Magazine | 79

Every year thousands of South Africans, mostly children and teenagers, are diagnosed with blood disorders such as leukaemia, marrow failure and aplasia. There is hope, a diagnosis of this kind is not always life-threatening and there is the chance of the patient undergoing a successful bone marrow stem cell transplant from a healthy bone marrow stem cell donor. The Sunflower Fund, with the help of committed local and international funders, corporates and the general South African public, is increasing this HOPE every year and building a STATE ASSET to help future generations of leukaemia sufferers. With HOPE, leukaemia is no longer the DEATH SENTENCE that it was over 30 years ago.

The Sunflower Fund’s mission is to educate and recruit a viable source of well-informed potential bone marrow stem cell donors who are ethnically diverse, in an effort to save the lives of those

needing a transplant when suffering from life-threatening blood disorders. It strives to maintain the associated donor records of the South African Bone Marrow Registry.

The Sunflower Fund was formed in 1999 in support of the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) and was inspired by 17 year old Chris Corlett’s heroic struggle against leukaemia. It was formed by Founder Director, Tina Botha (Chris Corlett’s Mother) and other parents whose children had contracted leukaemia, and in some cases had lost their battle against it. The Sunflower Fund would like to encourage the public to join the South African Bone Marrow Registry or to assist by funding the expensive tissue typing tests which cost The Sunflower Fund R2000 per donor that registers. Together we can save many more lives by offering young patients the opportunity to a life-saving bone marrow stem cell transplant.

To make a direct donation visit Given Gain or for more information go to www.sunflowerfund.org.za Toll-free number if dialling from South Africa: 0800 12 10 82

If dialling internationally call: 0027 21 7010661

Share a Little, Save a LifeBecome a bone marrow stem cell donor today

The Sunflower Fund Full Page.indd 1 30/07/2013 09:59

SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL BLOOD SERVICE (SANBS)

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Proud to be

associated

with

SANBS

where the strategy, history, goals, plans, and targets of each campaign

are taken into consideration,” Thapelo explains, “We rely on a mixture

of creativity and strategy, including information gathered through

customer surveys, research, and direct contact with blood donors.”

Thapelo goes on to explain, “The best areas are the urban areas

with good facilities and better living conditions, whilst the worst areas

are the rural and poor areas with minimum or no facilities, as it will

be difficult for any individual to donate blood on an empty stomach

characterised by poor nutritional conditions.”

The level of education also plays a role in influencing the

donor profile, he goes on to say, as the people who understand the

importance of blood donation would be more likely to donate blood.

Ultimately, this is the main aim of the campaigns. With a population

of 49 million inhabitants, in 2012 only 442,000 were regular blood

donors. The World Health Organisation estimates that only around

1% of the population give blood in most countries and South Africa are

not far from that. A combined approach of education and availability is

needed to boister the blood supply.

Otherwise there could be a repeat of the 2011 crisis where

a shortage of blood had a knock-on effect for the entire medical

industry in SA.

In the last article we focussed on the importance of blood donors

in SA and how different times of the year affected the supply of blood

to those who need it, especially for women giving birth in hospitals.

“Improvements that have taken place include developing

mechanisms for minimising blood wastage at hospitals,” Thapelo

explains, “And the improvement and more focus on the management

and treatment of deferred blood donors, that is, blood donors who

cannot donate due a condition at the time of donation such as low iron

levels.”

It’s also a matter of earning trust with the people of South Africa

and as we highlighted last year the two blood screening facilities in

Johannesburg and Durban are some of the best in the world and it is

possible to screen every bag of donated blood for infection using state

of the art testing technology. It is an expensive but vital component of

the service that SANBS offers.

Like a perpetual wheel the need for blood supplies will never go

away and SANBS will hold this mantle for a long time. Ultimately it

is something that everyone should be involved with. If you don’t give

blood, you should.

“Global readers can get involved through encouraging their

friends and families to donate blood,” Thapelo informs us, “And helping

us to spread the education message regarding blood donations.”

Becoming a blood donor in South Africa couldn’t be easier. Further

information can be obtained from our website: www.sanbs.org.za

• It is through development, growth and transformation that the South African Bone Marrow Registry has expanded from merely 800 donors in 1999 to over 64 500 dedicated donors to date. It is through strategic development and continuous improvement that The Sunflower Fund continues to grow the Registry.

• Even so, building and expanding is an everyday challenge. There is no sell by date as it is a living registry. The Sunflower Fund strives to continue building this state asset in order to protect and nurture our future generation as they may need life-saving donors.

• Ethnic origin (Heritage) is important when matching donors and patients. The “markers” that are tested when searching for a match are genetically inherited and often unique to a particular race. It is through education that we aim to increase the number of Black donors on the Registry to help the many children and young adults in our state hospitals searching for donor matches. This involves us selectively targeting

the recruitment of Black donors in all targeted recruitment campaigns and donor drives.

• The Sunflower Fund is aiming to reach out to more youth programmes to specifically increase the recruitment of young black donors. We are attempting to collaborate with more youth clubs within communities to increase awareness about the crucial need for donors. Potential donors have to be between the ages of 18 and 45 which is why we strive to recruit donors as soon as they turn 18 so that they can remain on the registry for a lengthy time with the hope that someday they too can give back to society by saving someone’s life.

• Education and awareness is created in communities through talks at universities, churches and community centres. It is vital that all South Africans are educated about becoming a donor and the urgent need for donors of all ethnic backgrounds. Without these donors we are losing patients. Together, we can make a difference in South Africa and the rest of the World and save more lives.

WHY YOU SHOULD GET INVOLVED

THANK YOU FOR BEING PREPARED TO“SHARE A LITTLE, TO SAVE A LIFE”

Website: www.sunflowerfund.org.za

Toll-free number if dialling from South Africa 0800 12 10 82

If dialling internationally call: 0027 21 7010661

SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL

BLOOD SERVICE (SANBS)

0027 11 761 9000

WWW.SANBS.ORG.ZA

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