A new mobile clinic, appropriately called the ”Blood Vessel”, has been launched by the South African National Blood Service (SANBS), the Daily Dispatch website reported on Friday.
The Blood Vessel — a large bus that has been painted red — was unveiled at a function at DaimlerChrysler in East London on Thursday. It will give the SANBS the capacity to move around independently as the service works to increase donor numbers.
”The vehicle will take the pressure off businesses who often have to give up their boardrooms and offer electricity outlets for blood donations,” said SANBS head of marketing Judy Koch.
The bus, one of only two in the country, comes fitted with four plush leather seats, air conditioning and its own generator. It also has refrigeration facilities and can be parked in any location to allow a free flow of donors.
Koch said the bus will be used back-to-back with the blood service’s smaller donation vehicles, which cater for only two donors at a time.
The organisation’s lead consultant and head of the donor division, Dr Paddy Knox, said surveys have shown that maximum achievement can be reached by taking the services to the people.
Two weeks ago, the SANBS said its stocks were exhausted, with just a two- to three-day stock of blood.
”We are in a desperate situation because we are supposed to have a seven-day stock of blood … not the two-and-a-half-day supply we have nationally,” spokesperson Gail Nothard said.
She said the service only has a three-day stock of blood for Johannesburg and less than two days for coastal areas. — Sapa