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How you can save a life #WorldBloodDonorDay

Ever sat watching Vampire Diaries and you see them sucking away on those blood bags and thought “how do they find so many blood bags?” Well, it’s pretty simple- you donate your own blood. And you would be surprised that it’s not only the vampires that need the blood, people all around the world depend on blood donations. Today marks the day of #WorldBloodDonorDay and it is used to educate people on the importance of donating blood.

Apart from the millions of procedures that take place every day that need blood, donations are especially important during the festive season due to the high number of road accidents, but the need for blood remains high all year round because of elective surgeries and emergency situations. The problem that the SANBS is having is that not enough people are donating blood because of the stigma attached to it. A startling 1% of South Africans are currently active blood donors. And those regular donators blood doesn’t last forever. A unit of blood only lasts 42 days. In a perfect world, over 6,000 people would have to give blood every day to meet the needs of hospitals and patients.

So why should you be donating blood?

Just one unit of your blood can save 3 lives. These lives include children with severe anaemia, women who haemorrhage during or after giving birth, people that have been through severe physical trauma and cancer patients to name a few.

So take 30 minutes out of your day and visit your closest blood bank and save a life today!

To find out where the closest blood bank is, visit the SANBS.

Want more health advice? Click  here.

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