Online Appointment System For Blood Drives

The National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) now has an online appointment system to coordinate its blood drive activities.

Medical Doctor, National Blood Transfusion Services (NBTS), Danielle Levy, said the online system is one of several measures put in place to facilitate social distancing.

She was speaking with JIS News at the World Blood Donor Day awards ceremony held on Monday (June 15) at the NBTS’s Slipe Pen Road address, Kingston,

“You can visit our website at nbts.gov.jm and click on the tab for appointment preregistration. We still welcome walk-ins so if you are unable to make an appointment you can still come in,” she advised.

“We specifically ask for persons who intend to participate in blood drives to set appointments and preregister for the purpose of crowd control and social distancing,” she added.

Dr. Levy said the appointment system coordinates all of the NBTS’s collection centres islandwide. These are NBTS (Blood Bank), Kingston; Cornwall Regional Hospital, St. James; Falmouth Hospital, Trelawny; Kiwanis Blood Collection Centre, National Chest Hospital, St. Andrew; Mandeville Hospital, Manchester; May Pen Hospital, Clarendon; Port Antonio Hospital, Portland; Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, Westmoreland; St. Ann’s Bay Hospital, St. Ann; and University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), St. Andrew.

She said that persons and institutions interested in hosting their own blood drives can contact the NBTS for assistance.

“We will create a link for their blood drive individually. They can spread the word to their friends so they can make an appointment to preregister,” she noted.

Persons interested in donating to the NBTS should be between 17 and 60 years old.

“If you are 16 and would like to donate, you can do so with parental consent. If you are a regular donor, which means you donate two times per year and you reach 60, we will allow you to keep donating up to 65 years,” Dr. Levy explained.

Persons must meet the minimum weight requirement of 110 pounds and have had no tattoos or piercings done in the previous year.

Also, persons with non-communicable diseases (NCD) who wish to donate, must have these conditions controlled. Persons with diabetes who are not taking insulin and are only on oral medication are able to donate.

Dr. Levy reminded donors to eat a healthy meal within three hours of giving blood. “Don’t eat anything too fatty, as it is not easily digested, and remember to hydrate before you come in and continue hydrating after you have donated,” she advised.

The NBTS is responsible for collection, testing and distribution of all blood and its by-products across Jamaica.

Persons interested in donating blood are encouraged to visit the NBTS website at nbts.gov.jm or telephone (876) 630-1984.