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Benefits of Blood Donation |
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Did you know that when you donate blood even once, you are considered a special
person for contributing an invaluable donation? Blood is a crucial component in
treating patients in hospitals. The need and demand for blood has increased over
the years due to the development of the healthcare industry in our country.
Treatments such as heart surgery, organ transplantation, and thalassemia
patients require a large amount of transfusions. The Ministry of Health Malaysia
has set a target of making at least five percent of the population in Malaysia
active blood donors. Although the target has not been achieved, the number of
donors and units donated has increased over the years. The question is, what are
the benefits and steps to encourage the public to donate for the common good?
One of the benefits of donating blood is that it helps patients in need. Every
day, accidents and emergencies happen in hospitals. Doctors need a supply of
blood to stabilize the patient's blood count, who may have lost blood during
treatment. Imagine if the patient is someone we love or know, we would certainly
do anything to save their life. Therefore, we can help those in need and be
considered heroes who save those who require assistance. As the Malay proverb
goes, "when the burden is the same, it is easy to carry." Moreover, during a
pandemic like COVID-19, hospitals require donations from recovered patients for
research purposes and to contribute to finding a vaccine for the disease. In the
end, this activity can lighten the burden of those in need, and we will also be
given assistance in various forms from God.
As the saying goes, we should prepare an umbrella before it rains. Likewise, it
can guarantee the donor's health from certain diseases' risks. Before donating,
medical officers will conduct a brief health examination. Then, they will inform
the donor about their blood group/type, blood pressure level, cholesterol level,
and various others. This free health examination can help us know our health
status, and early detection can be done if we have any illness. Not only that,
the donated blood will be screened first to identify if the donor has a viral
infection such as HIV and hepatitis. As the proverb goes, prevention is better
than cure. As a result, it can ensure that we are alert to health threats while
helping those in need.
To encourage the public, our society should cultivate this activity at every
level. It requires criteria such as being aged between 18 and 60 years and
weighing over 45 kilograms. Therefore, every party such as employers or higher
education institutions can play a role in organizing activities regularly in
their respective areas. This step not only facilitates the activity but also
cultivates it as a corporate social responsibility. For students in higher
education institutions, giving merit to those who participate in this pure
activity will undoubtedly encourage students to participate. The concept of
giving back should be practiced so that everyone involved can benefit from the
benefits of this activity.
In line with the above steps, the public can be influenced to donate actively
through a more holistic campaign. Today's society prefers watching videos on
social media compared to television broadcasts. Therefore, the relevant ministry
and agencies need to collaborate in intervening in campaigns across all media
platforms. For example, public service announcements, advertisements, or
infographics can be displayed on various social media platforms to raise
awareness of the importance of donating blood. This can increase public
participation in blood donation campaigns. |
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