Foreword 2022

 

 

Beryl Armstrong 1946 - 2022

It is with deep sorrow that we record the passing of Beryl Armstrong on 18 June 2022, at the age of 75, after a courageous battle with cancer. She spent the last years of her life in her beloved village of Botrivier and towards the end was comforted by the many messages, thoughts, and prayers that she received from friends and colleagues. She is survived by her sons, Graham and Stewart, three grandchildren and her sister, Jean.

On 5 September 1970 Beryl married Duncan, who later became CEO of the National Bioproducts Institute, and they remained a devoted couple until Duncan’s passing in 2021.

In a career in the field of blood transfusion that spanned more than 55 years, Beryl became known to colleagues throughout the world for her passion, integrity and energy. Born in Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal on 2^nd July 1946, Beryl started her career at the Natal Blood Transfusion Service in 1964 and went on from there to spend time at the World Health Organization in Geneva – a time that she was busy documenting at the time of her passing – and later served with the Africa Society for Blood Transfusion (AfSBT) in several different capacities.  

During her time with the AfSBT she had an enormous impact on raising the standard of blood transfusion in many countries, and she will be fondly remembered by the countless professionals who she mentored all over the continent. I had the sincere pleasure of working closely with Beryl and a small team for many years, developing Standards for the Practice of Blood Transfusion, the now well entrenched AfSBT Step-Wise Accreditation Programme, and conducting training programmes. A definite highlight was writing the “Introduction to Blood Transfusion Technology” published under the auspices of the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT), which Beryl insisted be made available free of charge to the blood transfusion community throughout the world.

Those folk who knew and worked with Beryl will miss a highly intelligent, vibrant individual with a rare ability to mentor and bring out the best in people. Their sorrow will be lessened only slightly by the comforting thought that they had the privilege to know her. 

 

Rob Wilkinson, July 2022