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LUMEN | EVENTS
BLOODay
at Health Sciences Authority
By Chan Yu An
Trying to garner support for a donation drive has always been challenging , more so when it involves parental consent with regards to one ’ s blood .
Among the other obstacles faced by the
BLOODay ( formerly known as Bloody
Tuesday ) Creativity Action Service group , space constraints at the
Bishan campus also saw the members finding alternative ways and means to plan a blood donation drive and to attract donors .
Hence , from 2015 , the event has been held off campus at one of the satellite blood banks .
This page ( top ): Proud to be a donor This page ( bottom ): Drawing blood
On 22 April 2016 after a concerted effort at publicizing BLOODay to the students , a group of Sec 4s , JC 1s and JC 2s visited the Bloodbank @ HSA to donate blood . At around 4pm , the students headed to Outram , where the headquarters of the national blood bank is located . Upon arrival , we were ushered to the auditorium , where we had to fill in details about our travel and medical history to ensure that our blood was safe for donation . For example , if we had travelled to countries with mosquito borne diseases in the past three weeks , we would not have been able to donate blood due to fears of malaria and the Zika virus .
After filling out the forms , we encountered a hitch with parental consent as many of us had used an outdated form . Thankfully , a major disappointment was averted when the HSA staff managed to resolve the issue . As many were first-time donors , we had to do a vein check to determine whether our veins will be able to facilitate the blood donation .
We also had to see a doctor who reviewed our responses in the forms , to ensure that we did not have a fever , cough or cold . There was one last station to clear – the blood test . Our level of hemoglobin had to be at least 12.5g / dl . The blood test was a simple and fairly painless prick after which a small drop of blood was put onto a slide for testing . The whole process took less than 10 minutes and we were allowed to enter the blood donation room after the test .
The donation room was fairly small with about 10-12 donation stations . However , the nurses were very efficient . After a few seconds of feeling to find an appropriately-sized vein , a local anesthetic was administered to prevent the entry of the needle from hurting too much . A few minutes later , the needle was inserted skillfully by the nurse . Although the sensation was a little strange at first , the pain itself was no different from a regular vaccination . From this point on , the process was painless . We were encouraged to pump a squeeze ball so that our blood would flow faster . Generally , it took only about 10 - 20 minutes for a bag of approximately 400ml to be collected ( enough time for a short nap ). After donating , we were given a colorful pressure bandage that held a piece of gauze in place to stop the flow of blood . After resting for a while , we were allowed to have our refreshments .
The whole process was a meaningful experience and it is good to know that our contributions will make a difference to the lives of many people . It is hoped with the next BLOODay , more people will sign up unhesitatingly .