World Blood Donor Day: NBTS enlists secondary school pupils in voluntary blood donation drive

World Blood Donor Day:  NBTS enlists secondary school pupils in voluntary blood donation drive

As countries around the world mark the World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) today, the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) is working with secondary school pupils in its voluntary blood donation drive.

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This strategy, known as “Catch -them- young,” is targeted at pupils and aimed at encouraging children to support the drive for free blood donation among adults so that it would be easy for these pupils to donate blood voluntarily when they grow up.

The National Coordinator of NBTS, Dr. Oluwatoyin Smith, in an exclusive interview on the WBDD, said, the agency was working with the education ministry to on the initiative, adding that it had also established blood safety clubs for secondary school students.

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She said, “The NBTS has also developed a strategy referred to as “Catch -them- young” in which we endeavor to imbue the culture of voluntary blood donation through learning in secondary schools.

“With the support of the federal and state ministries of education, we have established blood safety clubs for the senior students in secondary schools who become advocates for voluntary blood donation while in school and eventually commit to donating blood regularly from the age of 18 years.”

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Smith identified the community Blood Donor mobilization programme as another successful initiative of the NBTS geared at engaging religious bodies as well as local communities through their community leaders to become more aware of safe blood transfusion and voluntary blood donation through community sensitisation campaign.

She said, “There are deep rooted cultural myths and misconceptions surrounding blood donation in our environment and we have to continue to reassure people that once blood is screened using sensitive technology such as ours, blood transfusion will be safe.”