Be the one to make a difference

The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) has rallied behind the international movement, Be the 1(TM) Donor, to inspire young people to become lifelong blood and plasma donors and help save lives.

This international movement was conceptualised by global healthcare company, Abbott, which has partnered with Real Madrid soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo, in an effort to respond to the global decline in the number of new and young donors.

Ronaldo began donating blood when he was 24 years old when he witnessed one of his teammates battle with the search for a stem cell donor for his ailing son. Seven years later he is still giving blood, regularly.

Currently, South African tertiary students and pupils contribute about 40 per cent to the national blood reserves and supporting them to continue this as a lifelong commitment is an important objective for the blood service.

“SANBS is proud to be part of this movement and we hope that it will not only put blood donations on the agenda for discussion among young people but that it will also cause them to take a look in the mirror and say: ‘I have the power to save lives and I am going to use it’,” said the blood service’s marketing manager, Silungile Mlambo.

The South African campaign, which launched on 17 October, will recruit local ambassadors, including students, and radio and television personalities. They will take part in awareness-raising and be prominent on social and traditional media platforms to spread the word and support the global movement across South Africa.

“Our donors may or may not have such personal reasons for donating as Ronaldo, but our activations aim to remind young donors that someone they might never meet, needs their blood and plasma right now,” concluded Mlambo.