Blood Donation

It’s my first experience with blood donation. But…eh…I wasn’t the donor. Yesterday, my friend Yoke Lai and I took 3 of her students to Pantai Hospital for the blood donation. The donation is to replace the blood for our friend who had a blood transfusion in the hospital. Our friend is suffering from cancer in the abdomen area.

We arrived there at 12:20 pm, nearly got lost, as we didn’t know the way. I managed to call my ‘road map’ – Seng Chor. It was actually their lunchtime but they still made arrangements for us to donate. It was the first time for one of the students but the other 2 are veterans. One of them is actually a foreigner, whereas the other 2 are locals.

Here goes the procedure:
i) Fill in a form. Enter your personal details and answer some health related questions – just circle yes or no (about 15-20 questions). Some questions are:
Currently on medication?
Taken alcohol for the last xx hours?
Involved in any accident?
Had blood transfusion?
Had fits, malaria, tuberculosis?
Visited Europe for the past 3 months?
If female, pregnant?

ii) Check your weight.

iii) Check your blood type and level of hemoglobin.
(One of them has the blood type O- which is quite rare. Initially, one of them had a low hemoglobin count. So, the lab worker has to poke his finger again to check for the second time – ouch! This is one thing he dislikes most – poking his finger, and he had to do it twice. His expression was really funny. The second count was ok. We jokingly said that the lab girl wanted to hold his hands again. He is quite a charmer, and the girl is pretty too.)

iv) Then, some more questions:
Ate your breakfast? – recommended to eat first
Slept more than 5 hours?
Had alcohol?

v) Each donor will be given a card. So, the card is completed every time he/she donates.

vi) If all clear, each given 3 bags but they fill only one. The other 2 bags are for the blood component which will be extracted in the lab. One of components is platelet.

vii) Finally, the ‘blood-sucking’ process starts. The normal amount taken for guys is 250 ml – quite a lot. I have learnt that the blood could only be kept for about 3 months. But none is wasted as the need is always there.

After the procedure, the donors will be given light refreshment – usually Milo and some biscuits.

All went well. We left the hospital about 1:30 pm and took our lunch in KFC, Atria – as requested by one of the students. I was actually craving for KFC too. So, glad that one of the students suggested it. Hehehe! Yoke Lai and I gave them a treat for the donation. All of us ordered snack plate. I was the only one who had the Original Recipe – my favourite. Yummy, yummy!

Thank God for their willingness to donate the blood – Ivon, Woon Ping and Abdul Wahab.

If anyone of you wishes to donate blood at Pantai Hospital, you can go to Block A, 3rd Floor.