Rivers: Rotary Club donates mobile blood bus to Armed Forces blood center

Ugochukwu Iwuchukwu

The Rotary Club, Trans-Amadi, has donated a Mobile Blood Bus to the Armed Forces Blood Centre, National Blood Transfusion Centre in Port Harcourt as a way of boosting access to blood donation in Rivers State,

The Rotary Club made the donation during an event to mark the 2020 World Blood Donor Day at the Armed Forces Blood Centre, in Port Harcourt.

The President of Rotary Club Trans-Amadi, Ben Okoronkwo said the aim of the donation is to increase awareness on the importance of blood donation to Nigerians.

Ben Okoronkwo said Rotarians will continue to be solution providers for the numerous challenges facing humanity.

In his response, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Abayomi Olonisakin represented by Surgeon Commodore S.N.Ukpabi while thanking Rotary International for the gesture, tasked the Armed Forces Blood Centre to utilize the mobile bus for the greater good of society.

He said proper awareness and sensitization will lead to a huge turn-out of voluntary blood donors.

“The message is to task the blood center to ensure effective use of the equipment and to ensure that it is maintained properly so that it can perform the job for which it is donated, which is to go out to source for blood so that those in need of it will get it promptly. So that the woman in labour who must have had postpartum hemorrhage will not because there is no blood”, he said

He said Rotary Club has touched many lives through their numerous projects spread across the country.

The Coordinator of the Armed Forces Blood Centre, Port Harcourt Col.A.A. Alukor while commending Rotary Club Trans-Amadi, promised to make good use of the bus.

He also appealed to Nigerians to imbibe the culture of regular blood donation.

He said regular blood donation helps in boosting the immune system.