Rwanda National Police

More than 100 Police officers, on Saturday, donated blood as part of the Rwanda National Police (RNP) healthy development programmes to boost the national blood bank.

The exercise was held at the RNP General Headquarters in Kacyiru where Police officers at all ranks donated 44, 550 milliters of blood.

It is the sixth time since March 2017 when RNP and Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) partnered to boost the National Centre for Blood Transfusion (NCBT), and second time this year that Police officers operating in the City of Kigali have donated blood.

Dr. Thomas Muyombo, the Director for Regional Centre for Blood Transfusion (RCBT) Kigali, who presided over the exercise, thanked the officers and RNP in general for making blood donation a norm.

"Thousands of Police officers have donated blood in Kigali and those deployed in other regions as well as Police schools, and we are grateful for this volunteerism spirit to save lives," Dr. Muyombo said.

He added: "This is a commendable act, and an indication of RNP's commitment to supporting the government healthy development programmes to save lives and to Police a healthy Rwandan community."

Donating blood, he said, is an act of "heroism", and called upon all Rwandans to join the "lifesaving exercise."

"The day-to-day duties of Police, as we are used to, is to keep law and order to the community; we are grateful to have a Police that goes beyond to look at the wider aspect of human security."

"If there is not blood in the bank it can be disastrous, and everyone is a candidate of blood transfusion; we are prone to accidents, diseases that can result into excessive loss of blood or through an acute condition, so this voluntary exercise to donate blood is an act that guarantees the lives of people in need and in real time."

"Blood is not like food... it doesn't have a substitute, when someone is in urgent need of it there is nothing else you can do, and that's why we call it an act of heroism to think about someone out there lying on the hospital bed, who need your support. when you give blood know that there is someone out there that you have saved."

The agreement between RNP and RBC specofies long-term collaboration in blood donation, fighting against drug abuse among the youth, mental health interventions and sexual and gender based violence.

Other areas of partnership include enforcement of laws and regulation against risks of Non Communicable Diseases, fighting counterfeit, selling and smuggling of pharmaceuticals; research activities, creation of data base for healthcare provision; prevention and detection of fraud and embezzlement of public funds in healthcare agencies