Wajir residents have been urged to donate blood to help needy patients.
Making the appeal yesterday, Governor Mohamed Abdi said told his people to feel free to visit health institutions and donate blood.
“Our people should embrace the culture of donating blood on a daily basis, instead of waiting for a whole year to do it,” he said at the end of World Blood Donor Week.
“By donating blood, you become healthier and save lives. It could be that of your mother, father, sister or a close relative.”
The county chief said pregnant mothers and road accident victims form the largest segment of patients in need of blood in local hospitals.
He thanked volunteers for coming out to help. “The county Health department has trained nine technical and nontechnical staff in line with the operationalisation of Blood bank in Wajir County,” he said.
Wajir blood donation station is being renovated and will be operational by July 1. Abdi said institutions such as the police, the military, prisons, colleges and schools should join the donation efforts.
A similar call was made by Abdihakim Billow, who urged residents to make blood donation a habit.
“By donating blood, we give back to society in form of saving lives, not just for people that you know, but those in dire need of help,” he said.
The weeklong event had netted nearly 200 pints of blood. Officials expressed hope that they will meet the 300-pint monthly target.
The Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service, which was established in 2000 under the Ministry of Health, is mandated to collect, test, process and distribute blood and its products to all transfusing hospitals.
The agency has six regional blood transfusion centres — Nairobi, Embu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu and Mombasa — and more than 21 satellite stations, including Wajir.
(Edited by F'Orieny)
