The giving of one’s blood is an act of significance for both donor and recipient. City News talked to some donors at CHCSA’s recent blood donation drive.
CN PHOTOS: Niven Tham.
Unless you need to have blood drawn, or to stop its flow after an injury, you probably wouldn’t think much about the blood flowing through your body. Otherwise known as the river of life, blood is used to transfer platelets and oxygen to the entire body which keeps our bodies functioning.
Every hour of the day, 15 units of blood are used in Singapore. The blood bank needs to collect at least 350 units a day, as 100,000 units are needed in a year to treat the ill and injured.
Forty-five-year-old Patric Simon was one individual who responded to the call for blood donors, joining about 150 others at a blood drive organized by City Harvest Community Services Association (CHCSA) on Sunday, Mar. 17.
It was the Swiss engineer’s first donation of blood in Singapore and he said, “This is a good cause and I encourage all to make time for such blood drives. It does not take a lot of time but definitely goes a long way in helping the community.”
Based in Singapore, Simon has been attending City Harvest Church since 2008 and serves faithfully in the Greeters Ministry. In 2011, he graduated from SOT and was crowned “Greeter of the Year” the following year. Upbeat and cheerful during the blood drive, Simon said it definitely wasn’t going to be his last donation.
Since 2000, CHCSA has been organizing mobile blood drives in partnership with Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the Red Cross Society of Singapore. The CHCSA blood program aims to give back to the community by rallying individuals to save lives through the act of donating blood.
People of different ages and nationalities streamed into CHCSA’s eldercare center, House of JOY, and waited patiently for their turn to donate blood. Though there was a long snaking queue by mid-afternoon, donors waited patiently.
If you find needles threatening or the sight of blood frightening, fret not. Neiro De Sanchez, 36, who went to the blood drive with his friends after CHC’s Filipino service that morning, said, “It is just like a tiny ant bite. You actually don’t feel much at all. This is one way in which I can give back to society. It does not require a lot from me but this is a truly meaningful exercise.”
CHCSA has received the Champion Blood Mobile Organizer Award every year since its inception in 2002. As of 31 Dec 2011, a total of 18,389 donors have participated in CHCSA’s blood donation drives. Programme executive Eden Sim says, “We hope to give people a better quality of life from our blood donation programs.”
CHCSA’s next blood drive will be held on August 17 and 18. Join tens of thousands of past donors in making a difference in someone else’s life.
