Youth urged to donate blood today

Young people, 17 years and over, who are fit enough to donate blood, will have the opportunity to do so at either of two blood drives planned by the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) and Scotiabank to observe World Blood Donor Day 2010.

World Blood Donor Day will be observed today under the theme, 'New Blood for the World', which is in keeping with the United Nations Proclamation of 2010 as the International Year of the Youth.

The first of the two blood drives will be held today at the Girl Guides Association, Waterloo Road, Kingston 10, at 10 a.m.

Tomorrow interested persons can visit the Scotia Centre at the corner of Duke and Port Royal streets, downtown Kingston, to donate blood.

NBTS communications officer, Sandra Brown-Thomas, said the aim was to collect 400 units of blood over the two days. The annual target set by the Blood Bank is 30,000 units of blood. While this target has never been achieved, Brown-Thomas said she hopes the NBTS will meet or overshoot the target in 2010. She said that up to May, the NBTS had collected 11,000 units of blood.

"We are working with a number of our partners, such as the Jamaica Red Cross, Girl Guides Association, the Social Development Com-mission and a number of police youth clubs, in order to do a massive recruitment of young people. We anticipate that we will have a huge participation by young people for this World Blood Donor Day," Brown-Thomas said.

She encouraged young potential blood donors to lead safe and healthy lives so as to increase their ability to be regular blood donors.

"Anyone can be in a traffic accident. Those kinds of emergencies cannot be planned and, if the Blood Bank has a sufficient supply of blood, it may mean a matter of life or death for that individual. We urge people don't wait because you never know when it may be too late," she appealed.

Simone Hull, public-relations manager for the Scotiabank Group, says the bank is pleased to collaborate with the Blood Bank in hosting the blood drives.

"Scotiabank is very keen on voluntarism and we are always looking for a cause that is going to impact the island in a very positive way, and impact as many people as possible," she said. "We recognise that the Blood Bank has always been trying to get people to donate blood and support the cause, and this affects everybody."