A 74-year-old Harare man, Julian Buss, is being celebrated for a lifetime of generosity after donating blood an incredible 300 times over nearly five decades.
Buss began donating back in 1977, aged 25, as part of a small workplace initiative.
He kept it up regularly until he turned 70, when he stopped in line with donation rules. Said Buss:
“We started it as a group at the office, there were about five or six of us, and one of the guys had been donating for years, his name’s up on the boards here.
“He managed to get to about 200, and we just kept donating, we kept coming, it was a regular thing, we kept donating, it is a commitment to try and help and to do what you can.
“You do not know where the blood’s going. You do not know who is getting it or what. We just know it goes to people who need it. And that is it.”
National Blood Service Zimbabwe (NBSZ) Chief Executive Officer, Lucy Marowa, described Buss’s achievement as rare and deeply inspiring, urging more citizens to become regular donors. He said:
I pray that we have more… citizens who will partner with us, and more people who will say, ‘I will stand with the National Blood Service.
“Maybe I cannot give blood, but I can give my time, maybe I can give resources, maybe I can give something just to make sure the National Blood Programme never runs dry.
“Imagine if we had five donors who gave 300 times in every province. Maybe if we had 10 of them championing this cause, would the National blood supply be able to run dry?
“I do not think so. So we, you and I, have a duty out here. Let us be advocates. Let us join Mr Buss and all of the other donors.”
More: ZBC News
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