Giving blood benefits donors too

SINGAPORE- Eager to do his part for society, Mr Liu Zi Jia, 27, decided yesterday to donate blood for the first time on Red Apple Day, the biannual blood-donation drive organised by Singapore Press Holdings.

“It feels great to help,” he said. “I will do my best to donate once a year at least.”

However, besides helping others, what most people do not know is that donating blood benefits the donor, health-wise.

Mr Mathew Thomas, vice-president of public relations and communications at Singapore Medical Group, said that every pint of blood drawn is equal to a loss of about 650 calories. He also said that donating blood “stimulates the bone marrow to replenish the red blood cells lost”, with fresh blood cells being produced in the donor’s body.

Ongoing research also reveals that donating blood is a healthy way to potentially reduce the amount of iron in the bloodstream, an excess of which can lead to heart disease.

Yesterday’s Red Apple Day collected 162 units of blood from about 240 donors at the SPH News Centre auditorium.

Ms Sherlee Choliluddin, head of the Blood Donor Recruitment Programme of Singapore Red Cross, said that the daily requirement for blood banks in Singapore is 400 units of blood, which translates to more than 500 donors a day.

While they are able to meet this quota on average, the figure continues to rise due to the rising demand for blood.

Readers who wish to donate blood can visit any of the three Health Sciences Authority blood banks in Outram, Woodlands and Dhoby Ghaut. All three blood banks are open on Chinese New Year’s Eve from 9am to 2pm.

Source: My Paper

Category: Community