Press room

Currently the Western Cape has an adequate 3.5 day blood supply, but this supply is unfortunately not the ideal of a five to seven day blood supply.

The 2011 Census results indicated that there are almost six million people living within the Western Cape.  However, less than 1.5% of the population in the Western Cape are blood donors.

This is a worrying statistic for the Western Province Blood Transfusion Service (WPBTS).  “As the population in the Western Cape is ever increasing and access to medical care is becoming easier, we need more blood donors to fulfill the demand for safe blood and blood products”, says Marlize van der Merwe, WPBTS Corporate Public Relations Officer. 

The September edition of the WPBTS Blood Buzz is now available here!

The Western Province Blood Transfusion Service (WPBTS) relies on the altruism of thousands of blood donors to ensure it continually has stocks of the correct blood type to help treat critically ill patients.  In the Western Cape alone the Service has to collect 700 units of blood daily to meet the need of patients.

During the week of 15 to 21 August 2016, WPBTS will be participating with 21 countries in an international awareness campaign to encourage more people to register as blood donors and donate blood.

You are kind, generous and brave. You give unselfishly of yourself to provide for your loved ones. You are a remarkable woman. Therefore the WP Blood Transfusion Service (WPBTS) wishes all our female donors a joyful and prosperous Women’s Month.

WPBTS is committed to the health and safety of the recipient, as well as the donor. Therefore various precautions are taken before a donor is able to donate blood. These precautions lead to women having a few extra hurdles to overcome should they wish to donate blood. 

Mandela Day is celebrated internationally on 18 July in remembrance of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, who served as our President from 1994 to 1999.  It was unanimously decided by the UN General Assembly to launch Mandela Day on Nelson Mandela’s birthday of 18 July 2009.  This day is more than a celebration of Madiba’s life and legacy – it is a global movement to honour his life’s work and change for the better.