Celebrating Our Blood Donors

Our organisation firmly believes and inculcates the spirit of giving within the group and blood donation is exceptionally meaningful as it is essential for continuity of lives. With the Group’s resources, we can be effective in encouraging all our colleagues, relatives, business associates to join us in the drives. It is not an easy task to build a culture of giving. We have faced difficulties in getting enough volunteers to donate blood, but we always set targets and rally the help of all staff to spread the word.

We believe that education is key to ensuring that Singapore has a stable pool of blood supply. The team would educate employees and potential attendees on things to take note of prior to donating blood. Our youths and working adults nowadays are very savvy. We should engage them through channels which they use to spread the cause.

Growing up, I’ve seen my late father and elder siblings donate blood. Inspired by their life-saving cause, I started donating blood regularly when I was serving National Service. I remind myself to incorporate blood donation into my schedule. It was challenging at the onset. But now, it has become a routine and a habit.

Blood donated goes a long way to help someone, whether it is for surgeries or blood transfusions to sustain their lives. Through blood donation, you can sustain and save the lives of those in need. Their family members can have their loved ones still around them because of your blood donation. As long as my health is good, I will press on with blood donations until I am diagnosed to be medically unfit to do so. I’ve passed the baton to my son, who has been donating regularly since his National Service too.

I started donating blood when I was 16, as my mother had a blood deficiency condition and I understood the importance of blood in sustaining one’s life. To keep track of my donation schedule, I would pencil in my next donation date on a whiteboard display in my room. Blood donation is something you can do at your own convenience and at the same time, it is a simple way to give back to the community.

My passion for blood donation turned into an advocacy. I have encouraged 20 friends to make their maiden blood donations thus far, with two of them becoming regular blood donors themselves. Blood donation has become a part of my lifestyle. I gain satisfaction in the knowledge that I am helping others by donating blood and that my blood can save another's life. These keep me motivated to continue giving blood even when I go through rough patches in life.

I was 16 when my friends and I was approached to donate blood in a mobile drive. We challenged each other to donate blood and it turns out that I was the only one eligible that day. I have never looked back since.

My blood donation journey is most rewarding when I know that I have made a positive difference in people’s lives. While I do not have much to contribute in other ways, I have blood! I cannot think of another easier way to contribute to society and save lives, just by sitting down for two hours every month. As the youngest Medal for Life awardee this year, I’m honoured to be recognised together with the other award recipients. All blood donations are equally important and I look forward to seeing more people step forward as blood donors.

Red Cross Youth NTU Chapter had been supporting the National Blood Programme since Singapore Red Cross was appointed as the national blood donor recruiter since April 2001. Being a Chapter in a tertiary education setting, we are able to reach out to the youths and young adults to promote blood donation. On top of organising regular mobile blood donation drives, the Chapter also supported the programme by promoting blood donation via their social media platforms.

Having more online presence and making blood donation a lifestyle rather than an obligation will encourage more youths to step out of their comfort zone. Take baby steps. Believe in yourself and your ability to do your part for the National Blood Programme.

My blood donation journey started 28 years ago when a colleague was diagnosed with leukaemia. I was fortunate to be one of the rare few who could and managed to donate blood, and my experience was pain-free. It was during these visits and engaging with the nurses that I understood the huge impact that blood donation has on saving lives. Once you believe in the cause and are motivated to donate blood regularly, you will want to make it work.

As a frequent blood donor, I will take extra care to ensure I don’t do things that will jeopardise my blood donation. Being able to donate blood attests that your body is healthy. That’s not something that should be taken for granted. As a business owner, I feel that companies can also encourage their employees to give the gift of life by offering time off for colleagues who make blood donations.

I encountered stumbling blocks at the onset of my blood donation journey. With inconsistent haemoglobin levels, I was ineligible for blood donations as my haemoglobin levels were low in one of four attempts. Over the years, I learnt about the process and requirements, and made changes to my lifestyle to ensure successful blood donations. Every day, I’ll take two iron tablets and vitamin C. I also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.

Making changes to one's lifestyle was the most challenging part to being a regular donor. I feel that regular donors feel and look better, as a result of embracing healthier lifestyle choices, and also feeling good about themselves after their donation. Now, most of my family members, including my siblings and children, have since become regular blood donors and are strong advocates of contributing back to the community.

I would accompany my father on his blood donation trips since my primary school days. When the opportunity arose, I made my first donation too. Although not all my donations were successful, I’m thankful to have persevere in this journey and not let failure deter me. In all my interactions with the nurses, they made me comfortable throughout the entire blood donation process. I am thankful that after 13 years, I have never experienced any negative side effects after my blood donation.

I would also encourage my family and friends to donate, by telling them to do good by making a blood donation during their birthday month! Blood donors who donate during their birthday month will receive a birthday token and these tokens are generally quite functional! It is very rewarding to know that I am saving lives. I will continue to donate blood for as long as I can.

Having seen my father, who was also a Champion Blood Donor, donate blood during my childhood, I automatically went for it when I turned 18. As an apheresis donor, the sessions are more time-consuming than whole blood donations, and finding time was the most challenging aspect of maintaining the monthly apheresis donations. If you set aside some time, it’s very accessible to come forward with the blood bank locations and regular mobile blood drives.

We need to emphasise the importance of blood donation early in a child’s life. They will then be encouraged to step forward to donate blood when they are older. As a child, I didn’t really understand my father’s motivations. But now, to me, it’s just the right thing to do.

Blood donation might seem intimidating at first, but it’s actually very fulfilling to know that you’ve done something good. It’s all worth it in the end.