Speech of Hon. A. K. Gayan
Minister of Health and Quality of Life
on the occasion of
Blood Donation Campaign organized by
Mauritius Revenue Authority
Date: Friday 24 July 2015
Time: 09 30 hours
Venue: MRA Head Office, Ehram Court, Port Louis
Mr Sudhamo Lal, Director General of the MRA
MRA Staff
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is always a pleasure to be among you on the occasion of this
blood donation campaign organized by the Mauritius Revenue
Authority (MRA).
As you all know, the World Blood Donor Day campaign is
observed every year on 14 June. This event started in 2004, and
it serves to raise awareness of the need for donating blood to
save lives. The theme for this year 2015 is “Thank you for saving
my life”. This means that those who have benefited from the gift
of blood are taking this opportunity to thank all those unsung
heroes and heroines who donated precious blood to save lives,
not their own but for the lives of others and at the same time to
encourage more people to donate blood voluntarily and regularly
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with the message “Give freely, give often. Blood donation
matters.”
We are also celebrating the blood transfusion services who work
tirelessly to have the blood available when it is needed. The blood
donor is the most important part of this whole activity chain,
especially the voluntary non-remunerated blood donors who give
their blood in order to save a life, and not for any benefit for
themselves. It is this altruism of the men and women who donate
blood that we celebrate this year by saying to them “Thank you for
saving my life”. As you know, Giving blood is the highest form of
selflessness and it is important that we pay tribute to all those
who have been involved in blood donation. They do not know
whose lives they have saved or whose lives they are going to
save but anybody whose life has been saved by this blood
donation appreciates how much this has helped.
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Ladies and Gentlemen, transfusion of blood helps to save millions
of lives every year. We at the ministry we assure that the blood
that you collect is safe and tested and there are lot of procedures
for that purpose.
Blood can come in for need at any time. Gravely injured victims
of road accidents who experience significant blood loss require
blood transfusion as an emergency life saving procedure. Blood
has an essential, life-saving role in maternal and child care and
also helps patients suffering from chronic conditions such as
thalassaemia, haemophilia and leukemia to live longer and lead
better quality of life.
I would like to remind you that in spite of the rapid and remarkable
progress of medical science today, blood cannot be manufactured
and there is no substitute for it. The simple truth is that human
blood is produced exclusively in human beings, and can thus only
be acquired from another human being.
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As you are all aware, blood transfusion services are an
indispensable component of any health delivery system. I wish to
point out that the blood supply in Mauritius is safe and this takes a
lot of effort and hard work. The blood transfusion service of my
ministry strives for good quality blood and conducts campaigns
throughout the year to seek adequate numbers of safe blood
donors, who are appropriately screened.
All donated blood is
screened for transfusion-transmissible infections and the blood
cold chain is maintained in a quality assured manner that meets
international standards. As a responsible ministry we are mindful
that an infected blood unit or an unsuitable blood product
transfused to a patient can have serious consequences.
There is no telling when any one of us, or any of our near and
dear ones may have an urgent need for blood. For this reason,
we appreciate very much the voluntary blood donors who are the
pillars of a blood transfusion service.
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Blood is a highly perishable product and therefore the stock in the
blood bank needs to be replenished constantly. In order to avoid
blood shortages it is important to create a strong blood donor
base that consistently give blood to avert episodes of blood
shortage and I am very grateful to the MRA for organising this
campaign every year.
In Mauritius, the number of pints of blood collected every year has
increased in response to a rising demand. In 1998, only 25% of
donated blood was from voluntary donors as compared to 90.8%
last year.
This has been made possible through regular
awareness and sensitisation campaigns conducted by the
National Blood Transfusion Service and also through the
sustained efforts of NGOs and organisations like the MRA.
I wish to recognize the contribution of the MRA for the
organisation of this blood donation campaign today. The MRA
has for a number of years demonstrated its commitment to social
issues that go beyond its core mandate.
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Since 2007, the MRA has been organising blood donations, and
in the year 2014, it collected almost a thousand pints of blood.
This is a remarkable achievement and it has certainly helped in
saving the lives of many people.
Since l am at the MRA, let me make a quick reference to a play of
Shakespeare. I would like to refer to the Merchant of Venice.
When Shylock was told that he was welcome to his pound of flesh
but had no right to spill a single drop of blood. It is reassuring that
although the MRA claims its share of taxation flesh from all of us
year after year, it does also ensure that we get lots of pints of
blood from the MRA.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
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I wish to seize this opportunity to warmly thank the MRA for its
commitment to improving the lives of all Mauritians through
endeavors like this blood donation campaign.
I would like also to express my support for all those organisations
that follow the footsteps of the MRA and spread the message
about the importance of safe blood donation in our country.
I cannot end without thanking all the voluntary blood donors who
have selflessly donated blood over the years. I would request
them to remain committed to donating blood and saving lives.
Their great commitment is recognized by the country at large, by
my ministry and by me personally and I sincerely hope that they
will continue donating their precious blood to save lives. The
Ministry of Health and Quality of Life encourages all potential
donors to “Give freely, give often. Blood donation matters.”
I thank you for your attention.
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