Blood Donation A Part Of Road Safety Drive – NBTS

The Jamaica Gasolene Retailers’ Association (JGRA) is being lauded by the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) for its consistent efforts to supply the organisation with blood.

Speaking at the recent launch of the JGRA Road Safety Month, held at Future Energy Source Company (FESCO) gas station, on Beechwood Avenue in St. Andrew, where a blood drive was also held, Assistant Blood Donor Organiser at the NBTS, Keishawna Pinnock, said the group’s “long history” of support is of tremendous help to their mission of saving lives.

The JGRA continues to “seamlessly” deliver and “we are indebted to this organisation for such great support,” Miss Pinnock told her audience, noting that the gasolene group has “never faltered” over the nine years of blood drives.

“We urge groups, private and public sector, to support the National Blood Transfusion Service. We need everyone’s support, because the need is constant,” Miss Pinnock said, adding that as a life-saving entity, “we need a proactive nation to ensure that we have a consistent and adequate supply of blood at hand all the time, and everywhere”.

The JGRA has been having blood drives since 2014 where it encourages the wider motoring public and their members to give blood to the NBTS. Chief Executive Officer of FESCO, Jeremy Barnes, said everyone can be the “change, because we can give blood and drive safely”.

Meanwhile, Director of the JGRA, Sophia Lowe Pinnock, told JIS News that it was her second year giving blood and it is part of many events to encourage safety on the roads.

“Any major vehicle collision puts a pull on our hospitals and the use of blood, so what better way to not only prevent it but to prepare for eventualities, which is why we donate blood to commemorate the event,” the Director said.