Facebook has partnered the SA National Blood Service (SANBS) and the Western Cape Blood Service (WCBS) to encourage people to donate blood.

This comes at a crucial time as the country starts to see a significant drop in blood donations as people stay at home and adhere to social distancing regulations, despite the World Health Organisation advising that it is safe to donate blood.

“This is an important partnership with SANBS and WCBS, and one which we believe will make a positive difference to blood donations in SA,” said Nunu Ntshingila, Facebook Africa regional director.

“We want to make it easy to connect people who want to donate with opportunities to give, while learning about blood donation opportunities near them and inspiring action,” said Ntshingila.

SA is the first African country to launch the feature that allows people who are over the age of 18 to sign up as blood donors on Facebook. They will be notified when blood donations centres near them are in urgent need of donors.

Silungile Mlambo, chief marketing officer at SANBS, said: “We face a number of challenges with regard to the collection of blood each year. This year, the pandemic brought us a new challenge. This will revolutionise the way we connect with our donors, allowing us to work smarter and optimise resources.”

“The Western Cape Blood Service is excited to be part of this initiative and we look forward to welcoming new donors to fixed sites at N1 City, Blue Route and 9 Long Street, Cape Town,” said WCBS promotions, public relations and planning manager Michelle Vermeulen.