Calling for Volunteers,

Blood Collection is currently low and demand for blood from hospitals has increased. In order to ensure the constant and sufficient supply blood to all patients in Singapore, we are requesting for blood donors to come forward to make a blood donation at the Bloodbank@HSA this week and next week.

The Blood Stock Level has reached an uncomfortable level and we seek O & A blood type donors urgently.

Please help us spread the word and encourage your friends, colleagues and family members to come forward to give the Gift-of-Life.

Your donation will make a difference to 3 different patients who will benefit from the different components received from your unit of blood. We urge everyone who meets the donation criteria to come and extend a helping arm to help the patients. Blood donation criteria can be found at this url: www.hsa.gov.sg/donorcare

Please bring along your NRIC (Singaporeans and Permanent Residents), Passport / Work Permit (Non-Singaporeans) or Donor card. Donors aged 16 and 17, please download, complete and bring along the parental consent form from our website. Thank You!

From the informative presentation on the process of donating blood to interacting with student’s all-time favourite – the Blood Buddy, our visit to the Bloodbank had definitely provided the students with a ‘cool’ way to learn outside their textbooks.

The programme began with a presentation where the students learned useful information related to blood donation such as the shelf lives of the different units of blood collected. In addition, the lively speaker from the Red Cross Blood Donation Drive also helped the students dispel many myths pertaining to blood donation and discussed several cultural and social aspects of blood donation around the world.

After the short presentation, the students were divided into two groups. They were led by the Red Cross blood donation drive ambassadors as they made their tour of the high-end facilities available and interacted with the friendly and passionate youth ambassadors from Innova Junior College. The students were particularly excited about meeting the Blood Buddy and many students were impressed with the youth ambassadors as they were passionate in educating them on the importance of blood donation, especially among the youths.

What made the trip all the more memorable was during the tour when one of the students volunteered to go for the copper sulphate screening test to ascertain her haemoglobin concentration. This test helped to determine if a person is a suitable donor.

In addition, the helpful ambassadors were always ready to answer queries from our students during the tour.

All in all, the visit to the Bloodbank@HSA not only served as a memorable learning experience to complement classroom learning, it also delivered important national education messages in a fun and effective way. We definitely learned a lot from this visit!

Written by

Stanley Yang
Boon Lay Secondary School

METTA Hospice Care co-organised a Blood Donation Drive with the Changi Simei Community Club and the Singapore Red Cross at the Metta Building on 15th July 2007. An annual affair since 2002, this Blood Donation Drive marks Metta’s effort to work with the community to serve the less fortunate. The drive attracted about 116 respondents of which 97 were successful in donating blood.

Each year, new concepts are incorporated in conjunction with the event. This year, a mini bazaar was organised as a part of the fundraising initiatives. Staff and volunteers managed the stalls by selling trinkets, Duck Adpotion Certificates and Souvenir Ducks for the Singapore Computer Society (SCS) Great Singapore Duck Race 2007 were available. Also, a generous fruit supplier distributed free plums and nectarines from California to the donors and guests.

“I learnt a lot of things” – Chan Wei Jie (P4C)

The visit started off with a brief overview of the bloodbank, blood donor criteria and the work of the bloodbank.

It was then followed by a visit of the facilities of the bloodbank and close-up interaction with some of the donors.

Links enjoyed the visit and many hopes to be blood donors when they grow up.

“You make a living by what you get, you make a life by what you give.” – Winston Churchhill

Reported by:

Miss Valerie Tan
Peiying Primary School

On 15 August, 18 Red Cross Links from Fengshan Primary School set off to the Bloodbank@HSA to learn more about the process of blood donation. Upon reaching the Bloodbank at 2pm, they were promptly ushered into the auditorium for a short briefing by Ms Kathy on the constituents of blood, why blood donation is crucial as well as a short description of the blood donation process.

Following the briefing session was a guided tour around the Bloodbank. The Links observed the flow of procedure from registration counter to the filling of forms, to the consultation with the doctor. They went to the hemoglobin level test area and learnt that this process had to be done in order to ensure adequate amounts of iron in the blood before the blood donation process can take place. Some of the Links cringed with the sight of blood at that point in time, but their enthusiasm was sustained though.

Next, they physically witnessed how blood donation was carried out and realized that it was actually a painless process as the donor had already been injected with anesthetic. Behind the scenes of blood donation, there was much to learn as well, as the Links saw how blood was then separated into individual components, how blood was stored in a cold room before dispatch, as well as how platelets are stored under very low temperatures for storage.

Last but not least, the Links visited the Apheresis suite where they were taught by Ms Kathy that blood donation is a voluntary decision, and the process can be rather tedious. The Links were more greatly encouraged by the visit to the Bloodbank, with almost all of them wanting to sign up as donors once they could. However, being aware that they are still under 16 and not eligible for donor status, they resolved to spread the news of ‘The Gift of Life’ to family and friends who are eligible. Truly, it had been a wonderful learning journey that created much awareness and a positive impact to being more effective Links.

Reported by: Rebecca Seow (Fengshan Primary School)