SUNDAY 3RD APRIL, 2016 – UWI TODAY
23
A father, who is unable to donate blood
, brought his wife
and two teenaged children to do so. A student, whose low
body weight means she cannot donate blood, brought her
mother tomake her second donation; and first-year medical
students were enthusiastic partners in the 2016 BloodDrive.
These were high points for Dr. Kenneth Charles,
Chairman, ofTheUWI BloodDrive Foundation (UWIBDF),
and he was evenmore thrilled that the Drive yielded 73 pints
of blood, the highest ever.
Dr. Charles reflected on how the UWIBDF was
established in 2011 during a period of acute chronic
blood shortage brought on by an attempt to change from
replacement to voluntary non-remunerated blood donation
(VNRD). He was Director of the National Blood Transfusion
Service at the time, and it was depressing.
“It was clear that the population and its health care
professionals had not been adequately sensitized to the need
for change. At around this time, I joined The University of
theWest Indies and continued to explain the need for VNRD
to my students. Their response to shared information has
astounded me. Through several voluntary and religious
groups, they immediately committed to raising awareness in
the UWI and our communities through research, education
and example.”
UWIBDF was officially launched in 2013 with the
University’s Chancellor Sir George Alleyne as its willing
patron.
“Its Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Deepak Lall, is not
a medical person but an engineer with a heart of gold and
social passion to match it. Public Relations Officer is Mr.
Ryan Persad, one of my students of whom I am immensely
proud,” says Dr. Charles.
“Today’s drive was an overwhelming success, as we
collected the most voluntarily donated pints ever in a
single day in Trinidad and Tobago. A total of 73 pints were
collected voluntarily, comprising 37 male and 36 female
donors. It was fantastic to see such a high turnout of female
donors, as historically around the world women have a
greater fear of donating blood,” said Mr. Lall.
He said that the number of donors has been steadily
increasing over the past year when it has been done every
three months. The first drive yielded 13 donations, the
second, 22 and the third, 69.
“Trinidad and Tobago currently has less than one third
of the recommended blood supply. The main reason for this
is because blood is only donated in times of emergency; for
example if a family member or friend needs surgery, or gets
into an accident.”
He said that blood is usually donated non-voluntarily
or remuneratively at various blood banks. “Remuneration
donation means that blood is claimed by an individual via
CAMPUS NEWS
Deepak Lall (left) Chief Operations Officer of the UWI Blood Donor Foundation together with the Year 1 Medical Students who helped with
arranging donors for the Blood Drive.
a donor card or issued in the form of a chit for use. When
this is done, this means that the donated blood already
has an intended use and the nation’s supply can never be
boosted significantly. There are also many disadvantages
to donating non-voluntarily as it opens the way for the sale
of blood, which is illegal according to the Human Tissue
Transplant Act.
“Another alarming occurrence is that when donating
non-voluntarily, people are motivated to do what it takes to
donate. Even if it means falsely answering questions when
being interviewed, which can lead to infected blood getting
into our blood banks, as tests cannot detect certain viruses
at early stages.
“Voluntary donation is when you donate for nothing
in return. That means the blood is used for anyone, at any
time and has many advantages. In developed countries,
blood donated voluntarily has a zero per cent infection rate
in their blood banks.
“Most importantly donating voluntarily adds to the
nation’s supply, for everyone’s benefit and can help curb
the panic of emergency donation when a loved one needs
it most,” he said.
The
JOY
of
GIVING
HumanWorth
and Dignity
To commemorate the Social Work Unit
25th Silver Jubilee
anniversary celebration, the Social Work Unit at UWI St. Augustine
incorporated a two-day conference and exposition, “Promoting
Human Worth and Dignity: Social Work and Social Development
in Trinidad,” in March.
Using a multi-disciplinary approach, the conference dealt with
topics like the challenges that social workers encounter; the need for
social workers in all areas as an intervention to reduce crime and
other social issues; the history of social work from an international
perspective, and the strides that social work has made and the
contributions of women.
Professor Sandra Crewe Dean, School of Social Work, Howard University
addresses the conference. Seated at the head table (from left) are Dr. Linda
Hadeed, Dr. Emmanuel Janagan, Coordinator, Social Work Unit and Dr. Nasser
Mustapha Ag Head, Department of Behavioural Sciences. Photo: Yolissa Passley
