Health Ministry taps students to help boost Jamaica’s blood supply

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is mobilising students across Jamaica to help strengthen the national blood supply, with the first cohort of youth ambassadors under the ‘You’re Somebody’s Type’ campaign recently tasked with encouraging a culture of regular blood donation among their peers.

The students were welcomed at a Student Ambassadors Mixer held on Monday at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston, where Krystal Lee, MP, Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, called on them to use their influence to challenge misconceptions about blood donation and inspire more Jamaicans to become donors.

“Blood cannot be manufactured, it needs to be donated,” Lee said, adding that the demand for blood affects people across all age groups, including persons living with sickle cell disease, children undergoing cancer treatment and patients requiring surgery.