World Blood Donor Day- June 14

Bermuda Red Cross Blood Donor Centre Invites Public to Give Blood

The Bermuda Red Cross Donor Centre today announced the name of its new mascot, Betsie. Blood donors were invited to submit suggestions and Betsie was chosen as the winning entry. The goal of having a mascot is to raise the visibility of Bermuda´s need for more blood donors. Betsie will be with Johnny Barnes on Friday morning in honour of World Blood Donor Day, which is Sunday 14 June.

Dr Betsie Lombard, Director of Blood Transfusion services says: “We generally need more donors. Only about 3% of Bermuda residents are currently donating blood. Time and time again they step up to the plate when we are in need. The goal is to grow that number to 6%. Our day to day needs are for medical uses, including surgical patients, cancer patients and patients with sickle cell anaemia. We hope Betsie will raise our profile and give people who can donate a nudge. We now have dedicated parking just for blood donors and have installed comfortable, new reclining chairs. The donation process (including that cup of tea at the end) takes about half an hour in total. It has never been easier to save a life.”

The Blood Donor Centre is run jointly by Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) and Bermuda Red Cross. The Bermuda Red Cross has played a crucial role in the running the facility since it was set up in 1965, and about 40 volunteers regularly assist BHB nursing staff and technologists in the clinics.

Blood donor clinics are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8.30am to 3.00pm. Anyone interested in donating should call the Red Cross Blood Donor Centre at 236-5067.

People who’d like to see what a donor goes through can visit the following link to see a short video produced by Bermuda Yellow Pages. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbDbhM9B-Sg

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