Dr Sim (standing, left) chats with a blood donor. With the minister are (from right) Wee, Dr Wong and Dr Lee.
KUCHING (June 13): Sarawak is hailed as a ‘champion’ among all states in Malaysia when it comes to blood donation, says Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
According to him, the stock at the blood bank of Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) has never dipped below critical level – thanks to all the donors who are ever willing to uphold this noble cause that can save many lives.
“This is because all of our NGOs (non-governmental organisations), the Malaysian Red Crescent (MRC), and the people always come together when it comes to blood donation.
“No one is going to have blood transfusion unless it’s necessary. The last thing we want is when we need a blood transfusion, there’s not enough blood.
“Even during the Covid-19 Movement Control Order (MCO) period, the NGOs and the people still donated blood. This is indeed the success story of Sarawak – this is the Sarawak spirit.
“In other places, they may even have to pay people to donate blood; in Sarawak, it’s all voluntary, something that we are proud of,” Dr Sim told reporters when met at a blood donation drive at a mall along Jalan Stutong Baru here yesterday.
Organised by the Youth section of the Federation of Chinese Associations of Kuching, Samarahan and Serian Divisions, the event was among many mass blood donation drives being run throughout the state in conjunction with World Blood Donor Day, which falls tomorrow (June 14).
In this respect, Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations (SFCA) Datuk Richard Wee pointed out that the blood donation campaign would be on-going, not just during World Blood Donor Day.
“We will continue to do so and we have different associations throughout the state that can coordinate the drive.
“During the height of the pandemic, Sarawak was that one state that (its blood stock) had never dropped below the critical line.
“So we are very thankful to all the people and we would like this to continue.
“This (donation drive) will be one of the annual programmes run by the youth section of the federation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Red Crescent National Health Committee chairperson Dr Pamela Lee said at the national level, the MRC had set a goal to collect 1,000 pints from mass donation drives nationwide from June 1 to July 14 this year.
“As a Sarawakian, I am very proud to use this platform to serve the people here. The World Blood Donor Day itself is on June 14, but the MRC has chosen today because it’s a weekend, and we can get more people.”
Nonetheless, she pointed out that Sarawak would need new donors now as it could not rely solely on regular donors, who might one day become not eligible because of factors like ageing and health.
For SGH blood bank’s transfusion specialist Dr Wong Yi Shen, he regarded June 14 as ‘an auspicious day to celebrate blood donors worldwide’.
“They (donors) mean so much to the hospital. A unit of donated blood can save three lives, as the blood can be processed and stored as red cells, platelets and blood plasma. But the problem with platelets is that they can only last for five days.
“So blood no matter what, we require donors to come in and donate everyday; we have to replenish the stock every day,” he said, adding that when it comes to SGH blood bank, it requires about 200 donors a week to sustain its stock.
“We are very thankful to our donors in Sarawak who have been very helpful in sustaining our blood stock,” he said.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3NOdrQr
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