The National Blood Service Zimbabwe (NBSZ) is fretting over its depleted blood stocks amid revelations that the Covid-19 lockdown has complicated efforts to collect the blood from traditional donors, who are school-going children.
Investigations carried out by The Standard working in collaboration with the Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre (HIFIC) showed that the NBSZ was struggling to maintain normal collections of blood due to the lockdown.
Agri Ngazana, the NBSZ Midlands media liaison officer, said about 70% of blood donors in the country are school-going children.
“What we need to do is to have a positive attitude from our adults so that there is a reverse of percentages of donating blood,” Ngazana said.
“Instead of having 70% of donors being school kids, let us have it the other way round of the 70% being of adults.
“This lockdown has actually taught us a lesson that we need not to over-rely on the kids.
Midlands NBSZ supplies blood to seven health centres in the province which give it to critical patients.
—Brenna Matendere
