Our Capitals
Our intellectual capital: The expertise and knowledge in SANBS
Our Capitals
Our intellectual capital: The expertise and knowledge in SANBS
Acknowledgement as a centre of excellence
We continue to reinforce our position as a trusted leader in blood services across Africa by sharing our knowledge, building skills, and promoting best practices through strategic partnerships. Our role was further highlighted when the World Health Organisation (WHO) approached SANBS to provide proficiency testing services for blood services in Africa, demonstrating our technical excellence and the credibility of our accredited laboratory.
Our leadership was evident when we hosted the African Transfusion Indaba and welcomed a delegation from Ethiopia for training in specialised stem cell collection, helping to improve skills across the continent. Research is a key part of our importance and reputation worldwide. In FY25, SANBS wrote or co-wrote 19 publications in peer-reviewed journals and academic texts, furthering our contribution to the field of transfusion medicine. A total of 66 abstracts were submitted for the South African National Blood Transfusion Congress.
This year, we launched two important long-term studies:
Hepatitis C Serology testing study
An international trial led by SANBS to see if we can safely stop serology testing for certain treated donors. This balances safety with cost-effectiveness
Malaria testing study
This study looks into the possibility of allowing previously deferred donors to return through highly sensitive malaria testing, which could help bring back valuable donors
Research, advisory and development
The journey to transform SANBS by embracing change and empowering our people to deliver outstanding results was the main reason we created the SANBS R.A.D Academy, with great pride in 2021. The vision of the RAD Academy is to “future-proof SANBS, its people, products and processes” in support of the SANBS iHEALTh strategy.
The Academy started with the company recalibrating its approach to transforming learning and innovation. Oversight of the RAD Academy is the responsibility of the Clinical Governance Committee.
Five focus areas of the Research, Advisory, and Development Academy, which are aimed at enhancing knowledge dissemination, stakeholder collaboration, and innovation within SANBS.
1. Knowledge dissemination
This focus area emphasises the sharing of knowledge through various initiatives:
eLearning strategy: Reviewed in Q4, with a Learning and Development (L&D) strategy workshop held to refine the approach
Healthcare professionals training: Exceeded the annual target of 16,500, achieving 64,298 participants. This includes webinars and CPD opportunities uptake
Registrar training project: Enrolment of registrars and other medical doctors onto the SANBS Academy portal (SANBS + WCBS) to enhance professional development
2. Capacity development
The feasibility of establishing a multi-stakeholder committee to focus on internal training needs. A meeting was held in Q4 to discuss the structure and objectives.