The Western Cape Blood Service has created a challenge for teens called the ‘Super 9 Club’, encouraging them to donate nine times before their 19th birthday.
Western Cape, South Africa (11 January 2024) – The Western Cape Blood Service (WCBS) is challenging youth to take up the ‘Super 9 Club’ challenge. This means donating blood several times a year to be able to say you donated 9 times before turning 19.
On average, a donor can donate blood every 56 days. That works out to around six times a year. People can start donating blood from the age of 16 and a regular donor is classed as someone who donates three or more times a year.
“To sustain our donor base, we introduced the Super 9 Club geared towards our youth, encouraging young donors to commit to making nine donations before their 19th birthday. This initiative also aims to actively increase the youth portion of the donor base.”
The youth plays a pivotal role in the sustainability of the donor base. Currently, only 8% of the WCBS’s donors are between 16 and 18 years old. The hope is to increase this donor base to 10% this year.
“Empowering the youth to donate blood isn’t just about meeting immediate needs; it’s an investment in the future sustainability of our blood supply,” says Marike Carli, Public Relations Manager at WCBS.
High school learners can start donating blood at 16 years old. No parental consent is needed to donate blood, however, they will need to complete the POPIA form and that does require a parents’s legal consent on the document for processing of information.
The aim is to collect 700 units of blood every day to supply the Western Cape with a safe, sufficient blood supply. Ideally, 1-2% of the population should donate blood. The Western Cape population grew to 7.6 million over the past year.
In order to keep up with the demand for blood and the ever-growing population, WCBS aims to increase their active donor base with 4,000 new blood donors in the coming year. Currently, there are 72 200 active blood donors. An active blood donor is someone who donates at least one unit of blood (whether it is plasma, platelets or whole blood) in a year. WCBS also aims to collect 163,000 units of blood throughout the year to meet the needs of patients.
At present, the donor base by age group are as follows:
- 16 – 18 -year-old – 8%
- 19 – 25-year-old – 14%
- 26 – 29-year-old – 7%
- 30 – 39-year-old – 18%
- 40 – 49-year-old – 20%
- 50 – 59-year-old – 18%
- 60 + year-old – 15%
“We encourage all blood donors to be someone’s type this year by committing to donating blood at least four times in 2024”, Carli added.
Each donor who achieves this milestone will receive an extra token of appreciation. Donors will have the choice of selecting either a neoprene laptop bag, a weekender bag or a backpack on their 4th donation. Donors older than 65 will receive it on their 3rd donation.
With ongoing education efforts and campaigns, WCBS would like to educate the youth about the importance of blood donation and their essential role in saving lives.
“In 2023, we launched our Super 9 Club. This campaign encourages youth donors to make nine donations before their 19th birthday, and by doing so, we are trying to cultivate a culture of life-long life-savers”, Carli added.
Blood donation only takes 30 minutes of your time, and you can donate every 56 days. If you are between 16 and 75, weigh 50kg or more, are in good general health, and lead a safe sexual lifestyle, you should be able to donate. Blood donation does not cause you any bodily harm – only 475ml of blood is taken, and this is replaced within 24 hours.
Carli advises donors to eat a substantial meal within three to four hours before visiting a clinic and to increase their fluid intake before, during and after donation.
Blood is transfused every day in hospitals to patients in need. It is not only used for trauma, but also scheduled operations, during childbirth and for patients suffering from a variety of illnesses, including blood disorders like haemophilia and sickle cell anaemia, cancer, and auto-immune disorders.
For more information or to find your closest blood donation clinic, please visit
www.wcbs.org.za, download the WCBS App, or send a WhatsApp to 060 549 7244.
This year, be someone’s type. Donate blood.
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