The Namibia Blood Transfusion Service (NamBTS) has honoured dedicated blood donors at its Annual General Ceremony and Donor Milestone Awards in Windhoek, recognising their contribution to saving lives.
NamBTS reports that hospital demand for blood transfusions has increased by 6%, while only 1.2% of Namibia's population donates blood annually.
The service is responding through donor recruitment campaigns and plans to establish new clinics in the regions.
NamBTS Chairperson Marjolize Scholtz says Namibia is recognised as a regional benchmark for safe blood supply.
"The state health care facilities remain the biggest user of the blood collected because they consume 76% of distributed blood products. And the remaining 24% is utilised by private hospitals. The use of blood products in Namibia is driven predominantly by the rising clinical demand in oncology. So that is the new cancer patients and maternity clinical indicators. So despite blood donation pressures and the collection deficit, it is very important that we didn't have any hospital stockouts, meaning nobody. The hospitals didn't run out of blood. We didn't lose a patient because of the low stock, the blood stock."
Scholtz says hospital demand continues to grow by 5% to 7% annually and has urged more Namibians to become regular blood donors.
NamBTS Public Relations and Education Officer Frieda Vatileni-Asino says the awards recognise donors who have reached significant donation milestones.
"We are honouring those who have reached their 50th donation, their 100th donation, and the most that we have today is our 300th milestone donors. We are here to just say thank you. We're not just taking and we're not just urging people to donate blood, but we are also celebrating them in continuing to give back to those in need and ensuring that patients' lives in Namibia are saved on a regular basis."
Blood recipient Charlene De Waal expressed gratitude to donors, saying their generosity gave her more time with her son.
"To every person who donated the blood that I received, although I may never know your name, please know that I carry an enormous gratitude for you. You gave me something I can never repay. Time with my son. Time to heal. Time to remember my baby. And time to love."
Regular donor Liliana Baptista highlighted the life-saving value of blood donation.
"Blood isn't just a biological fluid. It is a shared humanity. It is time-bought for a sister, a mother, a friend, or a stranger. It is the bridge between a medical emergency and a family walking out of hospital together, whole and complete."
The ceremony recognised donors who had reached their 50th, 100th and 300th donation milestones.