Mohalenyane Phakela
LOCAL celebrities and radio personalities donated blood to the Lesotho Blood Transfusion Services (LBTS) on Saturday as part of a campaign to foster a culture of voluntary blood donation among Basotho.
Dubbed #Savealife, the event was held at Pioneer Mall with the likes of Dunamis, Dallas T, Jiji F, Juvenile, T-Mech, Kiva, Junior and Bebe among the blood donors who added 16 pints (around eight litres) to the LBTS blood bank.
The initiative was the brainchild of Ultimate FM presenter, Prince “Quizy” Moletsane through his Quizy Foundation in conjunction with LBTS. According to Quizy, the #Savealife campaign was meant to alleviate the severe and perennial blood shortage in Lesotho, which threatened to cripple the health delivery system.
“Our aim is to encourage the entire Basotho nation to embrace a culture of donating blood. I came up with this idea after seeing so many people in my vicinity dying after losing a lot of blood,” he said.
“The other reason is that we needed to boost the blood bank in preparation for the festive season which is characterised by accidents resulting in the loss of blood.”
Quizy said the intention behind the celebrities donating blood was to encourage their fans to also do the same, thereby saving lives.
“I am hoping that by involving prominent personalities whom people look up to, more people will start to donate blood to save lives,” he said.
“I intend to continue holding initiatives of this nature after every three months. So, the next session will be held in January.”
On her part, LBTS Blood Donor Recruitment Officer, ‘Mamotheo Mpata, lauded the initiative, saying it would encourage many people to donate blood which is sorely needed by the organization.
“We always have a short supply of blood since it is needed throughout the year in hospitals around the country,” she said.
“Most of our blood donations come from students. So, since schools are about to close, we will need blood from other sources. I believe Quizy’s initiative will reach out to more people and encourage them to donate blood because of the involvement of the celebrities.”
The event was also attended by Miss Lesotho Second Princess, Molulela Monyake, who urged Basotho to donate blood since it is the difference between life and death for many.
“It is unfortunate that I am not able to donate blood on this occasion since I donated last month. We were advised to donate blood after three months to ensure it does not affect our health,” she said.
“I am a regular donor because I believe it’s the least I can do to save someone else’s life. If I can help save a life with my blood, why not?
“I encourage Basotho, especially the youth, to donate blood and not think that they are giving it away to strangers. In future, it could be you or your next of kin who will need the donated blood.”
