By Hou Akot Hou
Medical workers in Northern Bahr El Ghazal state have called on healthy residents to turn up at the Aweil state hospital to donate blood to help patients with anemia because the facility is in need.
Luka Lual Aleu, the health education focal point person at Aweil State Hospital, told this outlet that they are faced with a huge number of anemic patients every day.
Anemia is a medical condition in which a patient lacks enough blood in the body.
Lual said he was shocked to see the blood bank only containing a few liters that could salvage the situation of 13 people.
He appealed to well-wishers and willing people to help patients, badly in need of blood.
“Lack of blood is challenging to us as health workers. The people we need to give blood to are 18–65 years old,” he said.
“Dozens of people do perish as a result of a lack of blood. The liters we have are equivalent to 18 bottles of blood. And people are in need of it,” he observed.
The medical worker said that the doctors could not do anything unless the donors gave blood.
“These are your people. If you don’t help give blood, then your relative can just die in 5 minutes, and it is important to give blood,” he said.
Mr. Lual underscored that people who usually suffer from anemia include pregnant mothers and children.
One resident of Aweil who expressed her feelings to this outlet also called for blood donors to embrace the idea, saying it is imperative to give blood to save lives.
“We are visitors on earth. God has brought everyone here to provide offspring. If you find your relative or any person you don’t know in sick bed lacking blood, please provide her immediately,” she begs.
The call for blood donation comes ahead of International Blood Donation Day, which is observed on June 14th, every year.