The late Bob Collymore was a renowned figure in the African Telecommunication Industry. Having served as the CEO of Safaricom, one of Kenya’s largest Telecoms, he was a household name. In addition to being a successful business leader, he also embodied the admired persona of harmony, diversity, and progressive change.
Bob passed away in 2019, from Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). It is a form of cancer that affects the bone marrow and blood cells. Since diagnosis in 2017, his life underwent tremendous change, especially having to be frequently in and out of the hospital for treatment. Nonetheless, Bob addressed his cancer struggle with great persistence and confidence, whilst maintaining his composure throughout.
Bob’s cancer treatment included chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants, and regular blood transfusions, among others. It was a stark revelation that we need each other. Without such acts as blood donation, Bob’s quality of treatment would have been greatly hampered. That is especially because AML mostly interferes with new blood cell generation, thus the need for regular blood transfusions by AML patients.
Therefore, without regular blood donations, AML patients, alongside others, such as mothers during childbirth, suffer the risk of death due to unmet blood transfusion requirements. Simply consider the fact that about four people need a blood transfusion every ten minutes in Kenya. Sadly, only thirty percent of that need is met on average.
At Damu Sasa, ensuring that every blood transfusion requirement is met is at the core of our mission. We use our various platforms, web, mobile and social, to facilitate timely access to safe blood for transfusion to patients. Our platforms do this by matching potential blood donors to unmet transfusion requests and linking hospitals to one another for seamless blood unit exchange, among others.
Damu Sasa also works to raise awareness about the need for regular blood donations, sometimes through publications such as this one. The main aim is to inspire altruism among potential blood donors with the power to save patient’s lives, by simply sparing a few minutes to donate blood. Sometimes, hope comes in the form of a voluntary blood donor.
As we remember Bob Collymore’s legacy, we are reminded of the ability of one person to bring about change. Indeed, one blood donor can save up to four lives through one blood donation exercise. To help us save lives, please join our community by downloading our app on the Google Play store for Android, or the Apple App Store for IOS.
One blood donor can save up to four lives through one blood donation exercise – that’s the comment!
Let’s get out and help save lives – Great article Damu Sasa!