Donating My Blood For the 27th Time

I am glad that I am donating my blood again after 2 years. This was my 27th time donating my blood. Have you ever donated your blood before?

Finally, yours truly me was able to donate blood again after not doing so since the beginning of the pandemic. It feels good to be donating my blood for the 27th time. After 2 years of not doing so, I am glad that I could do my part to help those who need a blood transfusion. How about you? So are you a blood donor?

Donating My Blood Again After 2 Years

The last time I donated my blood was back in February 2020, which was right before our Malaysian government ordered the closure of our borders. When the much-dreaded MCO was implemented, we were restricted from doing anything. Of course, blood donation drives and campaigns were not allowed as well for at least 1 year.

Step-by-step Process To Donate Your Blood in Malaysia

Step 1: Fill up your form

In Malaysia, you will be required to fill up a 4-page form each time when you want to donate your blood. This is to ensure that you are fit and "clean" enough to donate your blood. Yes! You will be asked questions such as whether you are feeling well on that day and have you had multiple sex partners or not for the past 6 months etc. If you have had multiple sex partners then you will not be allowed to donate your blood, unfortunately. You will pen your signature for verification and acknowledgement of your consent.

Step 2: Check your haemoglobin count and blood type

Every blood donation is different, hence the doctor will prick one of your fingers to see if you have enough haemoglobin to donate your blood. If the answer is yes, then you can proceed to donate your blood. Otherwise, you will have to do it some other day. You will also be required to check your blood type as this is your first time donating your blood.

Step 3: Consultation With a Doctor

To minimise any risk of possible complications during and after your blood donation, a doctor will assess your health status. This will take just a short moment with the doctor asking you a few questions before giving his stamp of approval.

Step 4: Official Registration of Your Blood Donation in the Central System

After a qualified doctor has given you the green light to donate your blood (in Step 3), an officer will register this blood donation of yours in the centralised system. Yupe! Your "sacrifice" will be recorded in the Sistem Tabung Negara Malaysia (Malaysia Blood Bank) to record and monitor your blood donation activities. A unique barcode will be assigned for this blood donation of yours as well.

Step 5: Wait For Your Turn

As each blood donor will take around 15 to 30 minutes to donate 1 pint of blood, you might need to wait a little bit for your turn to get pricked. It is also a good time for you to relax and get mentally ready (if this is your first time). However, on that day I did not have to wait long. In no time, I had started to donate my blood.

Step 6: Start Donating Your Blood

Once there is a vacant seat, you will be ushered to the seat. A highly experienced and qualified nurse will attend to you and start giving your localised anaesthetic. Then, you will be pricked to start collecting your blood. This process takes around 15 to 30 minutes only. So sit back, relax and enjoy your blood donation process. Make sure, you rest for around 5 to 15 minutes after donating your blood ok.

What Happens During Your Blood Donation?

As you can see, there is even a scale to weigh your blood

Don't be afraid. It is really painless (relatively speaking) 😉

As our government had slowly lifted some restrictions, blood donation campaigns were allowed, but I chose not to donate my blood initially as I had not been fully vaccinated yet. Finally, this year now that both my children have been fully vaccinated, I feel that it would be relatively safer for me to start donating my blood as usual.

How Much Blood Can a Person Donate Each Time?

Yep! That's my 450ml of blood. 😁

The blood donation drive that I joined was organised by the Blood Bank of our Melaka local government hospital. After Buka Puasa at around 8p.m., many people from all walks of life turned up to donate their blood. Registration was really a breeze, and I was being ushered to my special blood donor chair in no time. A nurse came, and my blood was being "extracted". I could donate around 1 pint of blood, which is around 450ml. This took around 15 minutes, and voila I was done. Don't forget to rest around 5 to 10 minutes after that.

Have You Donated Your Blood?

Hopefully, I could be more consistent!

I felt really proud that I have donated my blood for the 27th time. It was a relief knowing that everything went well for me despite 2 years of MIA. Though I am not a rich person, at least I have still got some blood to donate. LOL 😂 If you are healthy (alive and kicking), make sure you sign up to be a blood donor. You can be a hero, saving a life by doing virtually nothing. So why not, right?