Nigerian Red Cross Society, and the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service, have called on Lagos residents to donate blood to help save lives during emergencies.
The organisations made the call in Lagos at an event to mark the one hundred and fifty-eighth World Red Cross Day celebration tagged, Unstoppable, organised by Lagos State Branch of the Society.
According to Chairman of Nigerian Red Cross Society, Lagos, Adebola Kolawole, the event was organised to launch the Society’s, ‘One Reach ten Blood Drive.’
She says the aim of the blood drive was to raise one thousand pints of blood in a bid to acquire enough blood in the state’s blood bank for emergencies.
In her words, they had been supporting the State’s Ministry of Health for over twenty-five years and believe that with the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service, they can drive the project.
She said they also believe that if one person who wants to donate blood comes with ten people, there will be more impact.
Earlier, the chairman had said the 2021 World Red Cross Dat was significant because, Red Cross was trying to bounce back from the impact of the unprecedented circumstances in the past year, including the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to her, in these trying times, our commitment and dedication as first responders and local actors, to alleviating human suffering, remains strong and unwavering, this is because together we are unstoppable.
Also, Secretary of the branch, Olakunle Lasisi, said if the voluntary blood drive was well embraced, the benefits could go beyond the state.
In his remarks, he noted that Red Cross, particularly the Lagos State Branch, could claim to be unstoppable because of the support it received from its volunteers, donors and partners.
On his part, Secretary, Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service, Dr Bodunrin Osikomaiya, said blood donors also had a lot of benefits to receive from donating.
She says apart from helping to save lives, it gives donors the opportunity to have free health checks; their pulse rate, blood pressure and blood levels, will be checked.
In her words, studies have shown that people who donate blood have lower incidence of heart diseases and cancers.
Osikomaiya, however, noted that only people who were between the ages of eighteen and sixty-five, and those that weigh at least forty-five kilograms, could donate blood.