Donations.

I received a call from NUH (National University Hospital) Blood Bank today afternoon asking me whether I am free to donate platelet this afternoon as in they have a patient needs AB+ platelet urgently (normally platelet is for cancer patient). I told them I'd had a fever on 20-something March and I'd took some Panadols. If you have donated blood or something similar before, you'll probably knew that you have to fill in a form to declare yourself that you are free from any diseases. One of the requirements is that the donator must has not taken any medicines (including Panadol) within 3 weeks. I knew it very well, thus I didn't donate on 1 April. Take note that platelet donator can donate every month but, as for blood donator, it has to be minimum 3 months. Today is 16 April and I'm not very sure about the actual date that I'd got fever, so I told the nurse I need sometimes to recall and check the actual date. If I'd had Panodols on 26 March or later, I can't donate today because it is less than 3 weeks time of the "window period" and the nurse would have to look for other regular donators.

With fingers crossed, thanks goodness, I seldom get sick, thus I've recorded the date that I'd got sick in my macbook's Stickies. I suspected that the recent fever that I'd got was spread to me by my nephew Sean because this fever came right after he'd got HFMD (hand foot and mouth disease). HFMD to an adult like me? How ironic! Fortunately, my fever was happened on 24 March and I'd had Panodols on 24 and 25 March for two days only. So, I'm "fit" to donate (initially I was planning to donate on 1 May to avoid any doubts and extra inquiries). When I called back to the blood bank to tell them the "news" that I'm fit to donate, the nurse that called me answer my call, the nurse was so happy and kept thanking me for doing her as well as the patient a big favor.

Well, if I were to have Panodals on 26 March or later, what would happen to the patient? Can the nurse find another regular donator? I don't know but according to the nurse, through conversing to the nurse while I'm having the donation, she said it's not easy to find a last-minute donator, especially on Monday. I felt really glad that I was able to help and I sincerely hope that the patient will get well soon.

So folks, please, be a regular donator, leave your phone number to the blood bank and stop assuming that the regular one will always be available to donate. Everybody counts, indeed. If you are foreigner and you think that you are not "obligated" to help, please think from the perspective of the world's populations because the one that you helped might willing to donate monies or other things to help other peoples in other country. Good deeds will circulate around the globe.

As the matter of fact, you don't have to wait for the "mobile-blood-bank" which comes to school or somewhere near your house's CC every 3 months to donate blood. Instead you may wish to consider to donate in NUH or HSA or other hospitals any time you want to donate!

Happy donating!