WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8: First it was a ‘flu jab, then he subjected himself to a colonoscopy and now he’s given blood.

Health Minister Zane DeSilva visited the Bermuda Red Cross Blood Donor Center at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) today where he donated one pint of blood in a bid to pump life into the hospital’s appeal for more donors. His wife, Joanne De Silva, also donated a pint of blood.

Recently in the House of Assembly he said that only three percent of Bermuda’s population donates blood - a figure the hospital wants to double.

“I am keen to do whatever I can to bring attention to the importance of giving blood,” said Mr DeSilva. “It doesn’t take very long, is relatively painless and means you will ultimately be saving lives in Bermuda. And you never know when it could be you who will someday need that precious gift returned.”

The hospital uses more than 2,200 units of blood each year. Blood has a shelf life of five days or less for platelets, 42 days for red blood cells and a year for plasma, which is why the need for donors is constant.

Medical director of the Blood Transfusion Service at KEMH Betsie Lombard said KEMH collects and transfuses approximately 50 units of blood a week and that most of that blood goes to surgical or medical patients.

“In spite of perceptions, a very small percentage of our collected blood goes to trauma patients,” Dr Lombard explained. “In trauma cases, a large amount of blood is needed at once which stresses our stocks and we usually need to arrange emergency clinics to ensure our normal blood supply for other patients.”

To donate blood contact the Bermuda Blood Donor Centre at 236-5067.