I'm not the brave type of person who would volunteer for wars in Afghanistan, and I'm not always in the position of being able to give away money. I don't have the doctor's knowledge to help sick people, and I don't even think my company would let me take long leave just to go help the recent Indonesian earthquake victims. These however do not mean there's nothing I can do to help others in need. We can always play our part that's within our capability, but unless we stop procrastinating and start doing, we'll never actually be doing anything…
I actually want to talk about blood donation; a fine example of how making great impacts doesn't always mean making a great effort. We can save lives by just spending half an hour of our time at a blood donation drive; something most have come across but only a few have actually stopped by and donated.
Ever knew people that went into surgery, accident victims, patients with leukaemia, cancer, heart and liver diseases, and haemophilia? Unless they are someone close to us, most of us just wouldn't care. Imagine yourself being in their shoes… These are the people you're helping by donating. Maybe today you're helping others you don't even know, and tomorrow who knows if you need to do the same to help your loved ones. What if one day, others will need to donate to help you?
If morals are not strong enough to drive you to a blood donation, consider the followings; Each donor will be tested for their blood type, so it's a free blood type test for you. As each donor is tested against common diseases such as syphilis, hepatitis viruses, and the AlDS viruses (HIV), you can consider this as a free health check as well. Collectors would be pleased as they often provide goodies during their donation drive, and they also produce donation certificate which might be helpful during interviews (just maybe, as I don't really know. I'm not an HR guy). Hepatitis B vaccination is provided to donors, and donors would also enjoy these benefits at local government hospitals;
Produce your donor record book (or request for GL from the National Blood Centre) to enjoy these benefits at Malaysian government hospitals.
If you are an apheresis donor, you're also advised to do a full blood test (which includes renal function, liver function, etc2) twice a year which would cost hundreds of Ringgit each time if done at private labs, but yes, they do it for you, for free. Above all, for me it's just for the indescribable good feeling I get after each donation and as a time-out to have a peace of mind once in a while from the hectic live I have (I think so, though some take it as otherwise..)
The time when I can actually cool down and relax.
So, you're interested and want to go donate straight away? Sure you can, but you need to be sure of the followings (things most of us wouldn't have problems with)
- You are in good health today
- You are between 18 to 60 years of age
- Your weight is above 45 kg
- You had more than 5 hours of sleep
- You are free from the following medical problems; high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, operation in the past 6 months
- You have not taken any antibiotics in the last one week
- You are not pregnant or just delivered
- You have taken breakfast or light lunch before donating blood
- You are not involved in any of the following activities:
– Homosexual relationship
– Bisexual relationship
– Multiple sexual partners
– Having sexual contact with those mentioned above
– Drug abuse
/* List copied and edited from www.ummc.edu.my */
Many people would give excuses to not go donate though in reality they're probably just scared without even giving it a try. Reasons given are mostly baseless and more like myths. I'm not going to detail them out here, but I'm probably one of the living proof to negate all the excuses;
That's mine, yet, look at me!!
So, what are you waiting for? Let's go donate blood, and save some lives today!!!
/* I normally go to the National Blood Centre (www.pdn.gov.my) to donate. If there's no blood donation drive in your area, do check your nearest hospitals */
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