The 4th Annual Blood Donor Drive got underway yesterday with organizers falling just short of their intended quota.
The initiative is the brainchild of Jollys Pharmacy in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Wellness and New Health Investment.
Head of Public Health, Public Relations and Sales at Jollys Pharmacy, Carlton Languedoc told Dominica News Online (DNO) the target is to obtain at least 20-22 pints of blood per session; however, 19 pints were received.
He said blood donation is the best humanitarian gift that anyone can give to any human being.
“Each individual that is qualified to give blood; you generally give one pint of blood which is equivalent to 500ml, generally we look for at least 20-22 pints of blood per session because does have an expiry date and so we don’t want to take too much and then afterwards it’s not utilized,” he explained.
Languedoc warned however that if a person suffers from abnormally low or too high blood pressure, they are not eligible to donate blood.
“And so, you would have to go to the screening process. Persons who have gotten a tattoo within a year, they wouldn’t be able to donate blood,” he explained.
Languedoc said the programme will also ensure that Dominica has a safe and adequate supply of blood within the blood bank in the event of an emergency.
“An emergency could be a natural disaster, such as an earthquake that could occur anytime without no notice and so therefore, we want to ensure that our blood bank is optimal in terms of quantity in terms of numbers,” he said.
He said Jollys encourages persons to participate in such a program as their next blood donor drive will be hosted in October during the independence season.
Meantime, Public Health Official at Jollys Pharmacy, Edgar Jno Baptiste said the participation from the public was fairly good.
He said anyone who gets an opportunity to give blood they are actually saving lives. “We organized the drive to spread more awareness,” he added.
The drive took place from 9am to 3pm at the Prevo Cinemall on Thursday.
Great job Mrs. Pierre and the PMH Phlebotomy lab team in partnership with Jolly’s Pharmacy. Thank you blood donors. Your contribution is crucial to saving lives. Keep up the good work all.
Giving blood is trying the best humanitarian gift . great job team Jollys . Mr Languedoc our Caribbean Community Pharmacist of the year . Awesome man with great eloquence and wisdom . I appreciate your work sir . Mr Skerritt please recognise this man !
Great job team jollys pharmacy headed by my doctor Mr Lanquedoc . This man is so smart . He is a great pharmacist and health educator . We thank God for you and Jollys Pharmacy .
Jollys , always innovative , always doing humanitarian deeds hence this company’s success and continued growth . I do hope Mr Lanquedoc will get his flowers before he closes his eyes . We are always saying our young professionals are not giving enough to society , here is a shining example in this man. Every day , Dominica is learning from him . Have we shown our appreciation to him ? Carlton Lanquedoc , you are a local transformer !!