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Retiree donated blood 117 times since 1979; wishes to save more lives

KUCHING: A 60-year-old man from Kampung Panglima Seman has been actively donating blood since 1979.

Yunos Erol said he started donating blood when he was 18 years old, with a record of 117 donations made in the past 42 years.

"I am doing it because I hope my small contribution can save more lives. I wish it could also raise awareness and encourage others to also do the same.

"Besides, I know that the blood bank is always running low on blood supply. Hence, I would donate once every three months at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) blood bank or other blood donation campaigns," said the retiree.

The father of six, who has type O blood, said his former employer encouraged blood donation activities by giving leave or an off day to workers who wanted to donate blood.

He said health screening will be conducted on potential blood donors to determine whether they are fit to donate blood or not, hence, there is no need to worry about the side effects after donating blood.

"Based on my experience, if the blood pressure is high, we will not be allowed to donate, which is why before donating blood I make sure to get adequate rest and sleep," he said, adding a blood donation process usually takes between 10 to 15 minutes.

"Alhamdulillah. For as long as I have been actively donating blood, I have never faced any health problems. In fact, my health is getting better every day," he said.

Yunos said two of his children, aged 24 and 38 have followed in his footsteps and are donating blood actively. Hence, it is hoped that more young people who are physically fit would start donating blood to save the lives of those in need.

The Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) Blood Bank in a recent statement appealed to the public to donate blood to increase its declining supply.

With the current Covid-19 pandemic where mass donation campaigns couldn't be conducted, the blood bank has been experiencing an acute shortage of blood supply. It reminded the public that a person who has received the Covid-19 vaccine can still donate blood after seven days.

Covid-19 patients can also donate their blood, 14 days after the date of full recovery.

The SGH blood bank operates from 9am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. For the schedule of weekly blood donation activities, the public can refer to the 'Blood Bank Sarawak General Hospital' Facebook or call 082 -276797 or 010 -8578909.

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