Donors to donate blood three times before it is used

Blood donors will have to donate at least three times in future before their blood is used for transfusions and the race of the donor will no longer be a factor. This has emerged after a meeting between the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) and Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the health minister, in Cape Town today. They discussed the SANBS's new model for assessing the risk of donated blood.

Blood will continue to be screened for transmissible diseases and will only be used once it has been declared safe after the so-called window period. Today's meeting follows the furore after the SANBS admitted two months ago that it used the race of blood donors as a factor in assessing risk.

The department and SANBS have also agreed to implement a programme focused at attracting and retaining donors.

(Source: SABC News, February 15, 2005)