Reasons why people need to undergo a medical screening before he/she is deemed fit for blood donation
- to test the blood for any deficiency or diseases, for example the number of haemoglobin present in the blood, should there be too little, the person is not fit to donate blood.
- the blood is tested for the presence of diseases such as hepatitis A and B or HIV/AIDS.
- the person is also examined if he/she is physically able to donate blood, such as height and weight factors.
- there is an age limit before one can donate blood. And the person’s medical and social history will be asked. And to see if the person is unwell like having a flu and so on.
Cases of people who can’t donate blood will be
- people that have contagious diseases like hepatitis A and B or HIV/AIDS etc.
- people who are medically unfit.(low blood count and other deficiencies).
- people under the age of 16.
- presence of medicine constitution in the blood.
There is a total of 4 major blood groups (A, B, AB and O) that branches out into the positive and negative like (A+ and A-). So for donation booths around Singapore that get donated blood, without the complete laboratory equipment, when blood is taken out from the person, four drops of blood will be taken out. Take a drop of blood and mix it in Blood group O, A ,B and AB, if the blood coagulates then it isn’t the same blood type. And if the blood doesn’t, the blood types are both the same.
How to ensure a steady supply of blood for public use in peacetime and during emergencies
It is vital that a 6-day supply of blood is maintained. A high level of disaster preparedness is also maintained at all times, with contingency plans to meet all disaster scenarios requiring large amounts of blood. Our national blood donor recruiter, the Singapore Red Cross, may make appeals for blood donors of specific blood groups from time to time. Such appeals will be for specific blood groups that are currently in short supply (e.g. O+ or A –), or patients with rare blood groups might need them. In times of need, suitable donors might be contacted via phone, SMS or mail as well. This is to curb diseases such as SARS and the H5N1 diseases (Bird Flu).
In times of when blood is needed, there will be an adequate supply of blood to be used island-wide. However, if the demand doesn’t meet the supply of blood, people will be fighting over blood and soon Singapore, a peaceful country, will be having a war over blood. And that would drastically affect our Country’s economy as well as tourism sector, which we heavily rely on. And thus we will become a condemned state. As I’m sure we wouldn’t want such events to happen.This is why a constant blood supply is needed to meet the everyday demand of blood.
The volume of blood in the blood banks will be measured in terms of units of blood, which means 1 unit of blood will be 1 pint (450 millilitres). One unit of blood can be separated into several components:
- red blood cells
- plasma
- platelets
- cryoprecipitate.
Another one would be organ donation, in this case a person can sign petition that he/she wants to donate his/her respective organs when he/she dies or even immediately. The Singapore Government decided to approve on this because of the long waiting time and the cost of getting an organ from a suitable donor in another Country. And perhaps by then the person who is waiting for an organ transplant might have passed away. This is to do without the cost of unnecessary death and the long waiting time and the expensive cost.
Yes, I would like to commit myself to be a blood donor in Singapore as I know that Singapore needs to have a constant supply of blood every time to support the nation.
its patients in each and every hospital in Singapore. And in case of any emergency operations in hospitals,where the patients needs blood due to excessive lost of
blood needed for operations.the hospital will be able to supply blood for many patients.Blood contains many life-saving components that can help to treat different illnesses and injuries.
Moreover if I would constantly donate blood , I could help save the life of an accident victim, a patient with severe anaemia, a person undergoing major surgery or even a newborn baby.
The platelets found in blood are used to treat leukaemia patients. A single patient often needs platelets from 10 or more donors, all within a short period of time.
Add to that the short 5-day lifespan of donated platelets, that's the reason for a a constant need for platelet donors. Every hour of the day, 15 units of blood are used in Singapore.
HSA need to collect at least 350 units a day, as a whopping 90,000 units are needed in a year, just to meet the transfusion needs of patients in Singapore.
blood donors are so important to the contribution of blood supply to Singapore.
But many refuse to donate blood for certain reason, even if they are physically fit and that there they do not suffer from any blood related diseases (such as AIDS/HIV), they still refuse to donate blood. Reasons are:
- lack of courage
- fear of pain and needles
- do not find the time to come down for donating blood
Overall, these fears actually can be overcomed once they know the importance of having a constant blood supply. I believe that if 80 percent of this Singaporeans who are physically fit to donate blood would come forward to donate, there should be enough blood to last the blood bank in times of crisis.
Personally , I would not commit myself to be a organ donor. I feel that each and every one needs his/her own organ and the number of organ is just perfect for the person's own use.
Being an organ donor is not easy and the donor has to undergo operation to donate some organ from the body .
However , I would consider being an organ donor after I die as after death , the organ of the dead person is no longer used anymore and if the organ is still healthy and in perfect condition , the organ could be donated to save a dying person from certain
diseases that has malfunction the dying person's organ. However , not many people would be willing to donate their organs after death due to some religious beliefs. According to recent news ,
it was reported that a Singaporean is willing to sell one of his kidneys to a wealthy man who suffered from kidney failure. And according to the media , now people are discussing whether selling of organ is legal in Singapore.
I personally disagree that organ selling as I feel that the organ in our bodies are needed and are being used to keep us alive. Where i feel it is not right to do so. Moreover , if a person were to sell his or her
organ , he/she would end up dying in the course of the operation as there is a high risk of being killed in the operation of removal of organ. In this newspaper report , they discussed about the selling of
kidneys , as we all know a healthy human being posses 2 kidney in their body , and if a person were to sell one of his kidney , he would be left with only 1 kidney. However , I feel that if the person would
just survive with one kidney , it puts a lot of pressure and that one kidney has to work double hard in order to keep the person alive. In the worse case , if the person's kidney fails he would need another kidney to
survive. This however defeats the purpose of selling his own kidney as he would end up spending the money he got from the wealthy man to but another kidney.
these blood donation programmes. I would make a video regarding the process of blood donation , explain and encourage them that blood donation is not painful at all. I would also show them the statistic in which
the amount of blood needed in Singapore to support it's patient and show them how easy blood donation can be. I will also inform them about the benefits of donating blood and explain to them the different blood groups
