Not all heroes wear capes – Blood donor retires after 242 donations
Frequent blood donor, Barend du Plessis recently retired from donating blood after making a remarkable 242 blood donations.
Du Plessis, who is now aged 74, began donating at a young age and has been a regularblood donor ever since. “I am actually a little sad because I wanted to reach 250 blood donations but unfortunately due to my medical condition, I can no longer continue to donate blood. I am really grateful to have continuously done my part to help save lives over the years,” Du Plessis said.
The standard age for people to be eligible to donate blood ranges between 16-65 years old. Those who are aged 16 and 17 require consent from their parents or guardians and senior citizens who reach the age of 65 have to get permission of their personal doctor to continue donating blood.
Commenting on the outstanding deed achieved by Du Plessis, Namibia Blood Services, Educational Officer, Titus Shivute said, “People like Barend du Plessis are really hard to come by in our society. His passion towards the cause of blood donation over so many years should be taken as an exemplary target among current blood donors and those who qualify to donate blood but do not currently do so”.
Seeing as one blood donation can potentially help saves the lives of three patients, Du Plessis haspotentially helped save an extraordinary 726 patients during his long-spanning career as a blood donor.
“You never know when you may also require a blood transfusion because I was once hospitalised myself and I received 5 units of blood after diagnosis from my doctor. The staff members at NamBTS have always been really helpful and friendly since I began donating. I would like to encourage others to donate blood regularly continue to do so for as long as they can,” Du Plessis said.
Meanwhile, the Blood Transfusion Services said those interested in becoming blood donors should be older than 16 years, weigh more than 50kg, lead a sexually safe lifestyle and enjoy general good health.
