Guardian Media Ltd will be hosting a blood drive on December 13 at its Chaguanas headquarters from 9 am to 3:30 pm.
Members of the public are being urged to donate blood voluntarily as the current pool of repeat donors is whittling down.
To date, the mobile blood unit has screened over 2,000 donors.
Persons between the ages of 18 to 65 are eligible to donate blood once they are cleared by the medical officials, whereas elective donors can only donate blood up to the age of 60. Elective donors are those that choose to donate only when asked to respond to a particular situation.
A man is allowed to donate blood every three months, while a woman is restricted to every four months.
How to Donate
Visit any of the collection centres of the National Blood Transfusion Service.
You will be asked to fill out a registration form and an interview will be conducted. For your own safety, you will be asked for information on your medical history and a mini-medical examination (weight, height, iron level, blood pressure, pulse, temperature) will be done.
If you are selected to make a donation, your blood will be tested for certain infections before use, including HIV, viral hepatitis B and C, HTLV1, syphilis and Chagas' disease. You will be notified in the event of a positive result for any of these tests. Your blood is also tested for haemoglobin concentration (commonly referred to as blood count) – the minimum blood count level for men is 13.5 and 12.5 for women.
A nurse (trained phlebotomist) will draw your blood.
There is a 15 minute mandatory rest period after giving blood before you are allowed to leave the centre.