O+ Blood Stock Low, Singapore Red Cross Appeals For Donations
We may not realise the importance of blood banks, since it isn’t something we use very often. But in cases of serious injuries, the blood bank saves lives.
Unfortunately, Singapore’s blood banks are running low on O+ blood. The Singapore Red Cross is therefore appealing to members of the public with O+ blood type to make donations this week.
The O+ blood type is like a universal for all positive blood types — O+, AB+, A+ and B+. This makes it an especially important component of the blood bank.
Checking your eligibility
Remember to check your eligibility first.
There are 2 sets of criteria. One for health – like whether you’re fit enough to donate blood – and another for if you’ve traveled to countries with infection risks.
Here are some of the criteria:
- Must be between 16 to 60 years old
- Weigh >45kg
- Haemoglobin level >12.5 g/dl
- No symptoms of infections/fever in the past week
- Not visited countries with high risk of infection in past year
You can view the full lists here and here.
These checklists ensure the ‘integrity’ of the blood donated to the bank.
Doing our part to save lives
The importance of the blood bank cannot be understated. Let’s do our part, brave the needle – which really isn’t as painful as some of you might imagine – and start saving lives.
To make an appointment for blood donation, you either call HSA’s hotline at 6220 0183 or make an appointment online on their website.
Or you can hop down to any of the 3 blood donation drives happening this week.
Featured image from Best Bud Society.
