Wp Blood
Information Services in George

If you have never donated blood before, learn about donor criteria and whether you can or can't safely give blood. Become a registered blood donor with the Western Province Blood Donation Service.

What we do Our history Accreditation Standards of practice Annual reports Memorandum of incorporation Financial statements 2016/2017 Related organisations Minutes of the AGM The Western Province Blood Transfusion Service is a non-profit, independent organisation operating throughout the Western Cape. We work without prejudice to supply safe blood and blood products to all communities in the region, from Cape Town all the way up to George. Each year we collect more than 165 000 units of safe blood that’s used to impact the lives of more than 495 000 people. We also comply closely with the government’s Human Tissue Act, and are accredited by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS). Western Province Blood Transfusion Service is a community based regional health organisation formed by an association of voluntary blood donors, dedicated to providing the safest blood products and efficient service to the community, while operating at the highest professional and ethical standards and remaining a viable organisation. To be prepared to extend the service to provide for wider regional or national needs and to provide leadership in transfusion practice. In the 1930s, transfusion practice was in its most basic phase of development. The first blood bank was established in 1939 and was able to provide blood serum and whole blood to military hospitals for the duration of the Second World War. In 1942, the Service obtained its own building in the Cape Town city centre where three donors could be accommodated at a time. At this stage, blood was delivered to government laboratories for cross-matching. It was these very government laboratories who eventually assisted the Service in developing suitable storage techniques and serum processing. In 1949 the Service got its first mobile unit and was able to start scouting for donors throughout the country. The increased demand for blood saw a second mobile unit put into action. The expansion also made it possible for the organisation to provide a comprehensive service for the technical aspects of blood transfusion. In addition to donor grouping and cross-matching, serological, bio-chemistry and plasma aspirating laboratories were housed in the same building. It also housed the largest single-unit blood bank in the country at the time. New, light-weight mobile equipment was a welcome introduction, allowing standard vehicles to be used as mobile units. In 1973, plastic containers replaced glass bottles for the collection of blood. The new containers were better suited to the isolation of components such as platelets and frozen fresh plasma. The scientific division of the Service was established in 1976, the year that also saw the arrival of the first automated blood grouping machine. In 1980, a Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) and paternity testing service was introduced, and in 1983 the quality assurance department was established. Over the last two decades there, we’ve made even more progress regarding automation in the field of blood grouping and viral testing. The Western Province Blood Transfusion Service is proud to have grown from a small community organisation into one of the most technologically advanced blood services in Africa.