While the rest of the world was celebrating Valentine’s Day, the residents of Mombasa spread love differently by donating blood at the famous Mama Ngina Waterfront.
The blood donation event, which is held annually, attracted hundreds of young people, community groups, and non, governmental organizations who came together to demonstrate their commitment to saving lives. The organizers observed that there was a lot of youth participation this year and that the youth were becoming more and more knowledgeable about the importance of voluntary blood donation.
Grace Nzilani, Manager of the Coastal Regional Blood Transfusion Center stated that the initiative is very important for ensuring that blood supplies are available throughout the region. She added that the coastal blood centre sets a monthly target of 1, 800 units of blood to meet the needs of hospitals in the coastal region.
‘Drives of this nature help us keep the shelves in our blood banks from being empty. We are highly dependent on voluntary donors to be able to provide patients who need emergency surgeries, maternal care, and chronic illnesses treatments, with blood, ‘ Nzilani explained.
The officials attending the event strongly advised the residents of Mombasa to come out in large numbers and join the life, saving initiative, pointing out that three lives can be saved from a single unit of blood.
