This year’s World Blood Donor Day slogan is “Give blood and keep the world beating,” and it aims to raise awareness during a time of crisis by reaching out to all eligible donors to help maintain safe blood supplies. You can save someone’s life simply by donating blood.
However, a Malay Mail report stated that the blood supply at the National Blood Centre (PDN) is running short, below the safe zone, particularly of blood types A and O, according to its deputy director 1, Dr Tun Maizura Mohd Fathlullah.
The blood supply at the centre and blood banks nationwide has been dwindling since the country was hit by the COVID-19 virus last year, owing to people’s fear of being infected by the virus through blood donation, as well as the cancellation of many mobile blood donation programmes.
Are you allowed to donate blood during the FMCO period? The answer is yes. You can certainly donate blood, particularly in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
So, by donating blood, you still have the possibility to save someone’s life.
Hence, she advocated to the general public, particularly blood donors, to come forward and donate their blood for the benefit of the needy, as well as to prevent the blood supply from reaching critical levels.
“Donors only need to bring a blood donation book or a copy of the donation appointment slip as proof of travel at roadblocks, and we also appeal to the police (at roadblocks) to facilitate the donor movement process,” she told Bernama today.
Dr. Tun Maizura emphasised that PDN requires at least 500 to 600 bags of blood collection per day to cover the use of blood in hospitals for cases such as surgery, accidents, pregnant women, and Thalassaemia patients.
Furthermore, “Blood donors do not need to be concerned because the process of donating blood is thorough and adopts new norms such as recording body temperature; in fact, we also perform a COVID-19 screening declaration for each donor present,” she explained.
All of this being said, please come along to donate blood during this period of emergency. Today is World Blood Donor Day, and the fact that our country is running out of blood supply is simply devastating.
Locations where the general public can donate blood:
- PDN in Jalan Tun Razak
- PDN Donation Suite
- PDN Midvalley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur
- PDN Puspanitapuri Blood Donation Suite, Putrajaya
- Blood donation campaign locations organised by PDN and blood banks nationwide.
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