The victims of blood are actually heroes of the day. And instead of bloodshed because of hatred, it happened for the sake of love. Many lives I believe would be saved thanks to those who sacrificed their blood.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, what this was was a blood donation drive. And for the first time ever, I donated my blood. Hooray to me.
Initially, I thought that because I’m underweight and also quite scraggly, I cannot donate blood, but I was wrong. One just has to weigh over 45 kg to be able to participate in this bloody shebang.
You may wonder why I decided to donate my blood. Why donate blood in the first place? Well, why not? Firstly, it was for a new and fresh experience. Doing something I never done before had a certain kick to it. Ultimately, the purpose of doing it was a benevolent one – saving lives. I cannot say for sure that my blood I donated will be a life saver to somebody who’s suffering out there, but at least I gave that hope. Knowing that you’ll probably save someone’s life is a good feeling, truly.
They say that giving is receiving. Who knows when the day comes that we are the ones who are at the receiving end of the blood donation and desperately need blood to continue to live. Hopefully, if such a day does arrives, there would be sufficient and compatible blood for us all.
The blood donation drive was a great success, thanks to the huge turnouts of generous students. This picture was taken in the morning. I know, it doesn’t look like a lot of people, but during lunch hour the crowd multiplied in numbers. Excited students were actually lining up waiting for their turn to donate their blood. Wow, surely my college had contributed quite a big portion of blood to the blood bank.
Many students eagerly filing up the forms. Apparently, I met quite a number of first-timers too. Like myself, they were also excited, eager, and a bit nervous.
A poster about blood donation. It contained informative facts on the qualifications to donate blood. Man, it was an eye-opener. Did you know that you have to have at least 5 hours of sleep if you want to donate blood?
It says:
You can donate blood if you:
- Feel well today
- Are between 18 – 63 years old
- Weigh more than 45 kg
- Slept more than 5 hours
- Took breakfast or lunch in the past 4 hours
- Last donated blood at least 3 months ago
- Have no health problem
- Aren’t on drugs
- Have no menstruation for the past 3 days
- Aren’t pregnant/breast-feeding for the past 6 months
- Don’t misuse drugs
- Are not homosexual
- Don’t have multiple partners (more than 1 in the past 6 months)
- Don’t have sex with prostitutes
- Have no tattoo, ear/body piercings or acupuncture in the past 12 months
- Never lived in the UK and Europe from 1980 to 1996
After filling up the forms, a nurse (I guess) took my blood pressure, ask my weight, et cetera.
Next. I headed to this counter. Here, they tested my blood to see which group I belong to. I’m an A. Woohoo. A sounds good to me. People say that you can match a person’s blood type to his or her personality. However, I don’t think mine is a correct match.
If I’m not mistaken, blood type A people have an alpha personality; type AB people are universal receiver, therefore being selfish or something; type O people are universal donors, generally being generous; type B, I forgot.
After that is the Needle part. Ouch! Some of you might faint at the thought of it. Frankly, the needle was quite big and long. I wasn’t really afraid, just kinda nervous, that’s all.
Oh, you might be wondering how its like to be lying down on one of those chairs and “pumping'” blood into the transparent bag of soon to be filled blood. Well, there wasn’t much pain. Ironically, it was quite relaxing as well. It was something like a ritual. I just laid down, relaxed, felt a tingling sensation on my arm, and was releasing and grasping a hollow tube so that blood could be withdrawn.
The feeling after the donating part was amazing. I did not feel unwell or dizzy, some people might. Rather, I felt like I have done something that was natural, something that was needed, something that suddenly I felt that I was obligated to. I felt peace, tranquility, and a sense of regeneration. In a nutshell, I felt whole and holly.
Oh, before I forget, in the middle of my donating blood, a nurse came up to me and said,
“Tangan kiri u cantik.” (your left hand is nice)I was flabbergasted for a second. Did I hear wrongly? Did my ear play tricks on me? Maybe the whole blood donation thing really had affected my mind.
Perplexed, I asked her,
“Er, maksudnya?” (meaning?)Then she responded,
“Sebab nampak vein yang hijau tu.” (because the vein is very visible)So that was what she meant. Hmm, but the problem is, blood was already flowing from my right hand. No wonder the nurse before her had problem making me pump blood from my right hand. It was a bad choice of hand.
There were even light refreshments for blood donors after the intense moment. I had muffin and a cup of milo. Many students from different background filled that table, and I sensed the spirit of togetherness and unity for the greater good. Events like this are a good excuse to foster good relationship between the masses.
Other than the feel good factor, the plaster, the pills, the experience, and 300ml blood-drained body, I also got some sort of a souvenir – a blood donor log booklet. In this book I found out even more benefits of being a blood donor. Yes, there are some really nice stuff in the book. Want to know some? Go donate blood and discover for yourself.
The aftermath of blood donation…After removing the plaster, I discovered that there were 2 puncture wounds. Wth…Perhaps the other one was due to the anesthetic injection.
As you can see, donating blood has tons of benefits. Just the thought of saving lives is already enough a justification to donate blood. There are many physical things that one can donate to needy people like lucre, food, or clothes. But what if people don’t even have enough of those to feed their family? They can still donate their blood. It’s the elixir of life, and it’s in all of us.
Money can buy food, but it certainly cannot buy life.
On a lighter side, whether you’re aware or not, you have been donating blood all along. Although you’re unaware, you donated blood to the mosquitoes. Donating blood is analogous to being bitten by a mosquito really, albeit with no itch and a much bigger needle.
P.S. Ya I know, the picture quality is terrigible. Maybe I should buy a camera.
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