The Sunday News
Sukoluhle Ndlovu, Midlands Correspondent
BLOOD stock levels in Midlands have significantly dropped to a critical low, with supply to patients now on an emergency basis.
In an interview, National Blood Service Zimbabwe provincial information and recruitment officer Mr Aggrey Ngazana described the situation as worrisome calling on potential donors to come on board.
“We are facing a potential crisis as blood levels in our blood bank have dropped significantly. The situation is so dire that only patients with emergency cases are given first preference. We are therefore appealing to donors and potential blood donors in Midlands to respond to this call by giving blood to avert a potential catastrophe,” he said.
He said blood donation programmes were affected by various factors like flooding, lockdown, and closure of schools.
“Our blood donation programmes which we launched last year have been greatly affected by a number of factors like lockdown and flooding. Even the closure of schools affected us as we used to get more blood from pupils.”
He also said that they have started a blood donor mobilisation drive to boost stocks.
“We recently started our blood donor drive to encourage and motivate people to give blood. We will be conducting outreach programmes in districts like Zvishavane, Kwekwe, Shurugwi, Mberengwa and Gokwe to increase blood levels.”
NBSZ recently revealed that blood levels in the province dropped by 60 percent owing to Covid-19 induced national lockdown. @sukusinini.
