Blood donation in Ramadhan - sounds odd? It is actually happening here at UTM, my workplace. Yesterday and today there is a blood donation session at the mosque. Of course, it is at night time after isha' prayer - 9.00pm-11.00pm. You don't release blood when you are fasting. Anyway, it was well received.
I went there last night after terawih prayer. The queue for registration was quite long. Alhamdulillah it's not too long of a wait. My blood count was at a good level for donation but my blood pressure initially was quite low when measured using an electronic device. When a manual machine was used, my blood pressure was at a normal level. Maybe they need to calibrate the electronic one. After fasting for 4 days, alhamdulillah, I still maintain my normal body weight. There are a few criteria for blood donation in Malaysia beside the blood count, being healthy and has the minimum body weight of 45 kg. One has to have at least 5 hours sleep before the donation, not donating because one wants to check if he/she is HIV positive and a woman donor cannot donate if she is in between 7 days before her normal period and 7 days after that.
In Malaysia, this is my third blood donation since 2005. The nurse was surprise that there was a big gap between my last donation in Malaysia and now. I explained to her my time in the UK and was going to ask if I can convert the several times of donation in the UK to be counted here but didn't. Felt like I was asking for rewards if I requested that. Basically, to encourage people donate blood, the Ministry of Health has promised certain medical benefits for the frequency of donation. For example getting free Hepatitis B immune injection after 2 times of donation.
After I have passed all the tests, the nurse gave me a packed meal (didn't expect that) - for suhur - and I waited for an empty bed. There were only six beds and I think that they did not expect such a good turn out at the blood donation session. I think cause this is a month for generosity, even donating blood is considered as a form of sadaqah, especially for poor students who can't afford to give sadaqah in the form of money. Moreover, giving blood can save life and in the Qur'an ALLAH says saving a life is like saving the whole humanity (Chapter 5, verse 32).
Finally, there was an empty bed for those who prefer to be jabbed at the right hand (I'm left-handed). The first thing the nurse did was jabbing my vein for needle insertion with a local anesthetic. I asked what was that injection for and she immediately showed me a very big needle. Unlike my experience in the UK, there is no such anesthetic jab prior to the needle because the needle was relatively smaller than the one here. This one was somehow bigger than my vein.
It didn't take long to get 300 ml of blood from me but it took a very long time for the blood to stop. Usually 3-5 minute of pressurising the cut area is enough to stop the blood, but after 3 times, mine was still bleeding. It took probably half an hour to stop. I have never experienced such a problem when I donated blood in the UK. Could it be the size of the needle?
While I was sitting there folding my arm to stop the bleeding, a reporter came and started to ask me for details. He was surprise that I am an academic staff because usually, those who come for blood donation are either students or non-academic staff. I was equally surprise to know that academic staff aren't keen to give blood or they might just go straight to the hospital to donate blood rather than waiting for a campaign like this?
By the time I got home, it was near to midnight. I pray that ALLAH accept my deed and may this little that I gave can bring happiness for anyone who receives it.
ALLAHU'alam.
Wassalam.
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