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#Challenge: Have a Heart and donate blood

17 February 2021 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Pixabay

blood donation_web read more — Two final-year MBChB students show how it is done when they donated blood earlier this year.

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) staff and students in the Faculty of Health Sciences have challenged other departments in the faculty as well as other faculties and departments at the University of the Free State (UFS) to see whose staff and students will donate the most blood!

Mrs Angela Vorster, UFS Clinical Psychologist, says the South African National Blood Services (SANBS) has been appealing for increased blood donations since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. In order to provide support, the School of Clinical Medicine at the UFS held a virtual blood donation challenge in 2020, to encourage students to participate in altruistic behaviour and to enable the pre-clinical platform year groups to also feel like they are providing essential medical assistance.

“This was hugely successful and consequently we decided to include a blood donation challenge in our annual Mental Health Awareness programme. The benefits of donating blood are not only of a physiological nature (e.g. it assists in reducing iron levels and helps to control high blood pressure etc.) but means you are giving something of yourself. It will definitely save at least one life, perhaps more, and is incredibly beneficial in enhancing feelings of self-worth and personal meaning,” says Vorster.

The Faculty of Health Sciences invited the SANBS to UFS this week to provide all students and staff with the opportunity to donate blood at their place of work and study. So Have a Heart and take a few minutes to relax with a cookie and cool drink while your heart does the work of blood donation for you.

Details are as follows:

When: 18 and 19 February

Where: Francois Retief Foyer UFS

Time: 07:00-14:30

News Archive

Year-long programme to celebrate the story of life and survival

2009-02-13

At the launch of the UFS's year-long programme to celebrate the story of life and survival were, from the left: Prof. Schalk Louw, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Prof. Jo van As, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Prof. Maitland Seaman, Centre for Environmental Management, and Prof. Matie Hoffman, Department of Physics. All four are associated with the UFS.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

A year-long programme to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his scientifically important book “The Origin of Species” was launched yesterday (the birth date of Darwin) by the University of the Free State (UFS) on its Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

The UFS is the only university in the country that is presenting such an extensive programme on life and survival. Yesterday’s launch programme entailed a portrayal of the life of Darwin and a presentation on what nature tells us about cosmic history. It was the start of a year-long lecture programme in which various departments at the UFS will take part.

“The lecture programme, called “The story of life and survival”, forms a cycle of the progress of man and does not only focus on Darwin. The programme aims to portray the influence of Darwin’s theory of evolution on a wide range of disciplines. We see this as a good opportunity to promote science in its broadest context,” says Prof. Jo Van As, head of the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the UFS.

The lecture programme will include topics such as the geological evolution of our planet, extinction, Darwinian agriculture, the road to civilisation, the proliferation of technology and communication, human demography and the human impact on the environment. It will be concluded in February 2010 with a lecture on the future of evolution.

The programme is spearheaded by the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the UFS, in conjunction with the National Museum and the Central University of Technology.

“Today evolution is no longer considered to be a theory and is widely accepted by most serious scientists as the process responsible for the diversity of life on our planet,” says Prof. Van As.

Complete programme:

26 February 2009: The geological evolution of our planet
13 March 2009: Origin of life, prokaryotes and eukaryotes
24 March 2009: Extinction
16 April 2009: Evolution and biodiversity of plants
30 April 2009: Evolution and biodiversity of animals
14 May 2009: The mechanisms of evolution: Heredity and Natural Selection
28 May 2009: Origin of humankind
4 June 2009: Darwinian agriculture
30 July 2009: Road to civilisation
6 August 2009: Human demography
20 August 2009: Proliferation of technology and communication
10 September 2009: Human impact: On the environment
8 October 2009: Human impact: Resistance, ectoparasites, HIV/Aids, antibiotics
22 October 2009: How to care for the world
12 February 2009: The future of evolution

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
13 February 2009

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