THE EDITOR, Madam:
I WRITE in response to the Letter of the Day on January 17, 2001 by Mr. Edward Morris appealing to citizens to give blood. While I support Mr. Morris' appeal, we have to face the reality that as a people we have a tendency to be hesitant in acting in our own best interests (examples abound).
Having said that, the frequent appeals I see in the American and Canadian media for blood donation suggests that the reluctance we display in this particular matter is not indigenous to Jamaica. The fact that we have a higher incidence of violent crime and traffic accidents makes it a more acute problem.
My suggestion is that the Blood Bank request permission from the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission to hold a Blood Drive Lottery. Tickets would be sold at all Blood Bank facilities or any other place where one may go to give blood. In order to purchase a ticket, one would have to give a unit of blood.
Because the number of people giving blood is always going to be less than would be found queuing patiently at a Lotto outlet, a person who purchases a Blood Drive Lottery ticket has a much better chance of winning, thereby heightening the appeal.
There are several advantages to this approach. It would certainly improve our reserves of blood for all the reasons passionately described in Mr. Morris' letter. It would provide an unobtrusive method of screening for a multitude of diseases (such as HIV and Hepatitis) in a wider cross-section of the population. It would assist in funding the efforts of the Blood Bank, which like most areas of our health sector is under-funded.
If the Blood Bank can prevail upon the Minister of Health for a small loan to use as the initial cash prize, he might be pleased at the return on the investment.
I am etc.,
BRUCE W. MCKNIGHT
Toronto, Canada
Via Go-Jamaica
