Every unit of blood counts: Heart & Soul Rendezvous returns on a life-saving mission
As per the World Health Organisation guideline, Uganda needs roughly 400,000 to 459,000 units of blood annually to meet its basic clinical and emergency blood needs.
Uganda uses about 1,000 units of blood every day, with road crash victims and malaria patients (children and expectant mothers) the most in need. (AFP)
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The second edition of Heart & Soul Rendezvous will take place on November 14 at Premier Gardens, Kigo.
Organisers say the invite-only coming-together has a life-saving dimension. Its main purpose is to support the Mengo Hospital Rotary Blood Bank in collecting, screening and storing blood so that it is available for patients in need of it.
According to stats from the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS), Uganda is will need around 450,000 units of blood a year yet it collects only about 300,000.
That leaves a deficit of roughly 150,000 units.
The country uses about 1,000 units of blood every day. Typically, road crash victims and malaria patients (children and expectant mothers) are the most in need.
Women with pregnancy-related complications account for about 30 percent of blood demand, and excessive bleeding is blamed for at least 41 percent of deaths among women in childbirth.
This means there is growing need to collect more blood to save more lives.
A man can safely donate up to four times a year, and a woman up to three.
"A single donation helps one patient, but a lifetime of giving can reach dozens," say the organisers of Heart & Soul Rendezvous.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that blood donation by one percent of a country's total population is generally the minimum threshold required to meet a nation's basic clinical and emergency blood needs.
For Uganda, that one percent target translates to roughly 400,000 to 459,000 units of blood annually.
Headed by Dr Frank Kakuba, the facility supplies free blood and blood products to licensed hospitals across the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area and beyond.
It relies on voluntary walk-ins and mobile field drives in schools, churches, and corporate partners.
During the Heart & Soul Rendezvous in Kigo, a documentary will be shown capturing insights from the medical professionals, Rotary members and blood donors involved in the cause.
Those different voices are intended to make a case for why donating blood matters.
For the event, guests are promised soulful live music, meaningful conversation and the pleasure of good company.
"They will also be part of something larger, a community choosing to turn a beautiful afternoon into better odds for patients across Uganda," say the organisers.
"Come for the music. Stay for the experience. Give for the lives we can save. One gathering. One community. One life-changing cause."