We’re highlighting the heroes behind the scenes who play a critical role in our life-saving mission. Every day, we operate over 10 clinics across the Western Cape, where we depend on voluntary donors like you to help us collect 700 units of blood to keep the Western Cape’s Blood Stock Level at 5-days.
We greatly rely on the generosity of our donors to make saving lives possible. However, the journey of each donation doesn’t end there. After your generous contribution, the blood undergoes a rigorous process to ensure it meets the highest quality and safety standards before it can be used to save lives. This intermediate step is absolutely essential. Without it, we simply couldn’t fulfil our mission and give someone a second chance to life.
Come and explore the journey of blood with us and meet the real people who work to help us get the blood to those in need of it.
Arlen Marias and Sinethemba Zekani – PR and Marketing Department
Our Marketing and Public Relations department is responsible for the marketing and promoting of all our clinics in the Western Cape, making sure that all our donors are able to find a donation clinic closest to them.
Arlen and Sinethemba are our Marketing Assistants, they work together with the Marketing Team to promote and secure our donation clinics. They are also the ones who brave all weather conditions, lift heavy equipment and go the extra-mile to set-up our logistical clinics that you may see in malls and universities, they also do the deliveries of all our promotional material, playing a pivotal role in helping all our donors find a clinic quickly and easily.
Lorna Smith – Donor Division
Our Donor Division department are at the forefront of helping us save lives. They consist out of the administration staff, professional nurses, phlebotomist’, donor attendant’ and clinic staff to make sure donors are able to donate blood and save lives. Every day throughout the regions; namely Cape Town, Paarl, Worcester and George, we mobilise clinics to operate on different days and times; ensuring we reach our daily target to collect 700 units of blood to keep the blood stock level at a safe and sustainable 5-day supply. We also have our fixed donor centres that are open on designated days during the week and weekends.
Lorna is one of our dedicated clinic team leaders who is based at our clinic in Long Street. Part of her role is to make sure that our clinics operates smoothly and that our donors feel comfortable and that they have everything they need to be a might hero who saves lives.
Conrad Kramer – Transport Department
Gerswin, Shamsunnisa and Hadley works in the Plasma Donation Processing and Quality Control section of the processing department. They are the ones who make sure not a single error falls through the cracks and that the blood products are all of the highest quality for storage.
Shamsunnisa has been working for the service for over 37 years and she has witnessed the changes throughout the years. It is also her privileged to share all years of experience with Gerswin and Hadley who both have been working at the service for just over one year.
Estanishlo October – Processing Department
Our Processing Department process the whole blood into blood products and prepares the samples for testing. This important to ensure each recipient receive the blood products that they need.
Estanishlo is a qualified Medical Technician and currently works as a Laboratory Assistant in the first line processing section of the processing department. He receives the blood from our transport drivers that are collected at our clinics to prepare the samples for testing.
He has current worked at the service for 18 years believes that the sooner the he gets to work, the sooner he has results and the sooner he can be a part of saving lives.
Gerswin Hynes, Shamsunnisa Arend and Hadley Newkirk
Gerswin, Shamsunnisa and Hadley works in the Plasma Donation Processing and Quality Control section of the processing department. They are the ones who make sure not a single error falls through the cracks and that the blood products are all of the highest quality for storage.
Shamsunnisa has been working for the service for over 37 years and she has witnessed the changes throughout the years. It is also her privileged to share all years of experience with Gerswin and Hadley who both have been working at the service for just over one year.
Dannika Henman – Serology and Haematology Department
The Donation Testing department does the routine testing for HIV/AIDS, Hepatis B and C and Syphilis and blood grouping. This is important to make sure that the blood is safe for use and that the blood group and antibodies on the blood cells are confirmed to ensure the patient receives the most accurate and compatible blood type.
Dannika is a Medical Technologist, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia survivour and known as the red cell serology and haematology lab’s baker. After surviving her illness at a young age, she knew she wanted to do something in the medical field to aid in saving lives. She enjoys her role as she knows that every day when she comes to work, she is ensuring that the blood is at the highest quality to potentially save a life, just like it once saved her life.
Lizette Muriro – Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Blood Bank
Our Blood Banks are based in Groote Schuur Hospital, Tygerberg Hospital, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Khayelitsha Hospital and Mediclinic Vergelegen Hospital & Day Clinic, including the Paarl, Worcester and George regions along with designated emergency blood banks throughout the Western Cape.
Our blood banks play a pivotal role when it comes to patient blood testing to ensure the highest quality of blood is transfused. They also test for any antibodies, do blood grouping of the patient to ensure a perfect cross matching.
Lizette is a medical Technologist at the Red Cross War Memorial Blood Bank who test the patient blood and ensure that all the proper channels are followed before transfusion. She has been working for the service for over 14 years and has ever since been making a difference in the lives of thousands of little patients like Blaze and Craig.
Every day, our behind the scene heroes work to ensure that every unit of blood is handled with care and precision, making sure that saving lives are our top priority, no matter how big or small our tasks.
