Does Western Cape Blood Service collaborate with Vitanova?
Yes. Vitanova is currently one of two operational tissue banks in South Africa. It was established in 2021 by Bone SA due to a shortage of available human tissue for transplantation in South Africa. Vitanova is situated in the Western Cape and serves as a donor recovery and processing facility in coastal areas. In addition, Vitanova is a training facility, hosts public awareness functions and acts as an access point to industry partners and the public.
The Western Cape Blood Service’s (WCBS) partnership with Vitanova has led to a successful collaboration regarding organ and tissue donation awareness and registration of potential donors. WCBS also assists Vitanova in product safety by performing HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and syphilis testing for their femoral head donation programme.
For more information, please visit the Vitanova website (www.vitanova.org.za) or contact Sandra Venter, Awareness Manager (sandra@bonesouthafrica.co.za).