Residents of Kisumu County have been urged to come out in large numbers and donate blood.
A blood donation exercise is currently going on at Kisumu’s Jomo Kenyatta Sports Grounds, led by members of the Life Blood Donors Associate of Kenya Group.
The group’s leader, Isaac Mung’oma, appealed to the local people to visit the grounds and willingly donate blood today, saying many patients in this country are in dire need of blood.
Mung’oma said there are no health risks to a healthy adult donating blood.
“You should not wait until somebody requires that blood or in case of an emergency before you rush to donate blood. You should learn how to be a regular donor,” he said.
He said blood donation also makes the donor know one’s blood status, and may easily take required measures to live a responsible life.
Mung’oma said men are advised to donate blood every three months, while women can do the same after four months.
The Kenya National Blood Transfusion Services estimates that the country needs 200,000 units of blood per year, to effectively deal with accidents, illnesses and surgeries among other medical conditions.
The statistic is way above the country’s capacity as the supply has sometimes been as low as 40,000 units of blood per year.