Tag: healthcare in media

Categories : General InterestTags :

Every Unit has a Story: SANBS Documentary Reveals why Blood Matters as Stocks Drop to 4.2 Days’ Cover

On By ModernMedia

Johannesburg, 9 October 2026 – What happens to a unit of blood after someone rolls up their sleeve and donates? Who receives it? What does that blood mean to a person fighting for their life? And what would happen if the blood needed in an emergency simply wasn’t available?

These are some of the questions explored in the South African National Blood Service’s (SANBS) new documentary, Why Blood Matters, which premiered in Johannesburg on Thursday, 8 October, and will be broadcast on SABC 2 on Sunday, 11 October 2026, at 9pm.

The premiere brought together the people whose stories bring the documentary to life, highlighting the profound impact of blood donation and the people, science and processes that make safe blood available to patients across South Africa.

The screening comes at a critical time for the country’s blood supply, with SANBS blood stocks having dropped to 4.2 days’ cover. SANBS is urging eligible donors to donate blood as soon as possible to help replenish stocks and ensure that blood is available for patients who need it. South Africans are encouraged to watch Why Blood Matters on Sunday and, just as importantly, donate blood. Behind every unit is a patient who may be relying on the generosity of a stranger.

Watch the documentary trailer

Every unit has a human story

The documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of South Africa’s blood supply system, bringing together the voices of donors, recipients, healthcare professionals and SANBS experts to tell the story of what happens between the moment blood is donated and the moment it becomes a lifeline for someone in need.

At the heart of the documentary are the people whose lives have been touched by blood donation. For some recipients, blood is needed because of an accident or medical emergency. For others, it forms part of a long and complex treatment journey.

One of the stories featured is that of Marie Bontjes, who was diagnosed with anaemia at just one year old. Her story highlights how blood transfusion can become part of a person’s life from childhood, and the difference a readily available blood supply can make.

Another recipient, Meena Singh, experienced liver failure and required a liver transplant. Her journey involved receiving multiple units of blood – an intervention she describes as giving her an opportunity at life.

The documentary also follows Gregory Naidoo, whose experience illustrates the unpredictability of medical emergencies and the vital role blood can play when a person’s body is under immense strain.

For donors, the motivation can be equally personal.

Mario Ferreira, who has been donating blood since he was 19, speaks about the deeply personal reward of knowing that his donation could help save another person’s life.

“Knowing that I can save a life makes me happy.”

Another donor featured in the documentary is Boitumelo Masiu, who began donating while still at school. Her experience demonstrates how a culture of blood donation can begin early and become a lifelong commitment.

For Siyabonga Malinga, donating blood has become part of a community of people who understand that, in an emergency, there may be no time to wait.

More than blood: understanding what happens behind the scenes.

While the documentary centres on personal stories, it also seeks to answer questions and address misconceptions surrounding the blood supply system. Blood donation is voluntary, and donated blood is given freely. However, once blood has been donated, it must undergo a rigorous process that includes testing, processing, storage and distribution before it can safely reach a patient.

This requires specialised infrastructure, equipment, skilled people and logistics – all of which form part of the complex system needed to ensure safe blood is available when and where it is required. With SANBS aiming to collect approximately 3 500 units of blood every day, the scale of the operation is significant.

However, maintaining an adequate blood supply depends on the continued commitment of donors. Blood has a limited shelf life, with red blood cells lasting up to 42 days, making regular donations essential to keeping stocks replenished.

For SANBS, this is ultimately about much more than numbers. It is about ensuring that patients undergoing emergency treatment, surgery, cancer care, transplants and other medical procedures have access to the blood they need.

Simphiwe Cele, Marketing and Branding Manager at SANBS, says the documentary provides an opportunity for South Africans to see the full human impact of blood donation.

“We often talk about blood in terms of units, blood groups, stock levels and statistics, but behind every unit is a human story. A donor chose to give, people work tirelessly to ensure the blood is safe, and a patient’s life may depend on receiving it. Why Blood Matters brings those stories together and reminds us why this work matters so deeply.”

He adds that one of the most important messages for viewers is that blood cannot simply be replaced when it is needed.

“Nothing does what blood does. It cannot be manufactured, and it cannot be taken for granted. The only reason we can provide blood to patients when they need it is because ordinary South Africans make the extraordinary decision to donate.”

The documentary also highlights the science, infrastructure and people behind South Africa’s blood supply, including the extensive processes involved in ensuring that every unit collected can be safely used.

Watch on Sunday. Donate today.

For SANBS, Why Blood Matters is more than a documentary. It is an invitation to South Africans to understand their role in a system that touches thousands of lives – and to recognise that the decision to donate blood can make the difference between a patient receiving the treatment they need and a critical shortage standing in the way.

With blood stocks currently at only 4.2 days’ cover, the need for donations is urgent. SANBS is calling on eligible donors to visit their nearest donor centre or mobile blood drive and donate as soon as possible.

South Africans are also encouraged to tune in to Why Blood Matters on SABC 2 on Sunday, 11 October 2026, at 9pm to discover the stories, science and people behind one of the country’s most essential healthcare services.

A single donation can help support emergency treatment, surgery, cancer care, transplant journeys and ongoing medical treatment. The donor and recipient may never meet, but their lives are connected through an act of generosity that can give someone another chance.

For more information or to find your nearest donor centre or mobile blood drive, contact SANBS on 0800 11 90 31 or visit SANBS.

Categories : Mental HealthTags :

Life Imitates Art: Google Searches for Lorazepam Spiked with TV Show

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Steinar Engeland on Unsplash

In season three of the hit television series The White Lotus, the character Victoria Ratliff takes the prescription anti-anxiety medication lorazepam to help with her social anxiety and inability to sleep. Her casual usage of the powerful benzodiazepine – often in combination with white wine – leads to her becoming visibly loopy, slurring her words, and falling asleep at dinner.

A recent study led by researchers at University of California San Diego has found that the show’s portrayal of lorazepam use was associated with a surge in Google searches for the medication, including queries related to acquiring it online.

The findings, published in JAMA Health Forum, suggest that the show generated 1.6 million more searches for lorazepam over a 12-week period than what would normally be expected for the time period. This increase in interest was not observed for other commonly prescribed benzodiazepines, such as alprazolam and clonazepam, which were not mentioned in the show.

“It’s a really interesting phenomenon of how entertainment media can really reflect and drive human behavior,” said lead author Kevin Yang, M.D., resident physician in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

The study also analyzed searches for how and where to acquire lorazepam online.

“We saw significant increases in searches related to acquiring lorazepam as well,” said senior author Eric Leas, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and affiliate faculty at Qualcomm Institute. “It shows that there might be a subset of people that are actually wanting to figure out how to obtain that medication online.”

During the course of the season, Victoria Ratliff offers lorazepam to her husband Timothy, who eventually steals her pills and develops a dependence on the drug amid a personal financial crisis.

“Not only would he take it, but he would also combine it with alcohol, which we know is very dangerous,” said Yang. “ For the treatment of anxiety, lorazepam is typically prescribed for the short term  because long-term use can lead to tolerance and dependence as well as misuse. Studies have shown that almost one in five people who are prescribed benzodiazepines eventually end up misusing them.”

That’s concerning because the show emphasized the benefits of lorazepam usage, not the potential risks, such as dependence, respiratory depression and cognitive impairment, according to Yang.

“It didn’t really portray any of the adverse effects that might come from taking too much or from stopping it all of a sudden,”  he said.

Yang recommends that the entertainment industry and show producers take note of the potential impact of depicted drug use on viewer behavior and develop best practices around this type of content, which could include warnings at the beginning and the end of each episode. He also recommends that search engines provide informational warnings when people search for how to obtain the drug online, focusing on accurate, evidence-based information and support resources.

For viewers, Yang suggests taking a skeptical approach when searching for information online.

”My suggestion would be to take everything that is portrayed in the media, whether that’s on TV, film or in music, with a grain of salt,” he said. “It’s only showing one aspect of the medication, and that there are possible downsides. But ultimately, for things like medications, it’s important to talk with your doctor.”

The study was published on November 14, 2025 in JAMA Health Forum.

Source: University of California – San Diego

Categories : Ethics and LawTags :

Global Health Photographers Navigate Murky Ethical Waters for Clients

On By ModernMedia

Photographers report moderation, enhancement, and staging of global health images to meet the marketing goals of clients – while photographers react to these practices with resistance and routinely push back, the problem persists as the demand for global heath visuals continues

Photo by William Bayreuther on Unsplash

Global health photography is often caught between photojournalistic intentions of accurately reflect local communities, and marketing directives to create attention-grabbing imagery, according to a study published February 14, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Arsenii Alenichev from Oxford Population Health, the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, and colleagues. Standing at such representational crossroads, photographers are forced to engage with numerous – and often unresolvable – ethical and practical dilemmas.

Photographers are often commissioned by non-governmental organisations and agencies to document the pain and empowerment of others, with a goal to yield donations and attract attention to issues in communities. While photojournalism is often framed as objective, simply by being present, photographers interfere with local communities and can face challenging ethical dilemmas. To better understand how global health photographers operate and ethically obtain consent from subjects, the authors interviewed 29 photographers reflecting the demographic realities of the field about the moral and practical challenges they face on the job. The authors identified common themes across the anonymized interview transcripts to highlight major issues faced by global health photographers.

The authors found that in the current global health landscape, organisations often direct photographers to quickly create attention-grabbing marketing images to compete with mainstream ads. Photographers typically have to work with client-created ‘briefs’ detailing what images they need to take, and with limited time and resources. In practice, it pushes photographers to increasingly sanitise, sensationalise, or stage scenes to produce the desired image – misrepresenting the realities of local communities, especially in the Global South, to which photographers react with resistance. Acquiring ethical consent from subjects is also complicated by power imbalances, language barriers and illiteracy, and misplaced fear and trust in both the photographer and the legal documents they are asked to sign. Given these emergent themes, the authors argue that organizations should push for a more photojournalistic approach to the creation of global health images, weighing ethical clarity over potential economic sacrifice. While their sample of respondents may have been biased towards critical perspectives, the authors believe that this broad overview of tensions will equip other researchers to conduct future studies of more localised, nuanced experiences.

The authors add: “Decolonisation of global health and its visual culture will prove impossible without taking the ethical experiences of photographers seriously, especially the local ones. Global  health images should  not be understood as neutral depictions of interventions – they are in fact political agents participating in the formulation of stereotypes about people and entire communities.”