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JGRA hosts successful annual blood drive

Published:Friday | March 22, 2019 | 12:25 AM
A nurse at the blood bank, Catherine Treasure, overseas the collection of blood from Total’s Tracy Gentles during the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association’s blood drive on Wednesday at the association’s office at Kings Plaza, Kingston.
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A nurse at the blood bank, Catherine Treasure, overseas the collection of blood from Total’s Tracy Gentles during the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association’s blood drive on Wednesday at the association’s office at Kings Plaza, Kingston.

The Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA) on Wednesday staged its annual blood drive at the organisation’s headquarters in Kings Plaza, Kingston.

Since embarking on its first drive in 2014, the JGRA has ­collected more than 400 units of blood. This latest drive is the first in a series being undertaken islandwide with the hope of raising approximately 40 units at each staging.

“The blood drive has always been a momentous event for JGRA as it is dedicated to the death of a past dealer who died after being shot,” noted Gregory Chung, ­president of the JGRA.

Chung indicated that the JGRA’s blood drive was not solely about the collection of the ­precious fluid but served as a public-awareness exercise to inform Jamaicans about the importance of ­donating blood.

Donors were elated to partake in the activity and strongly believed that saving lives means everything.

“I am asking for ­continuous ­public support, and I’m ­encouraging all of ­corporate Jamaica to be a part of a blood-­donation project,” Chung added.