Our managing editor and social media manager agreed to share their first blood donation experience with us on World Blood Donors day. Read about their experience below.
My First Blood Donation Experience.
Paul Adepoju. Managing Editor, www.HealthNewsNG.com
Today,
June 14, is World Blood Donor Day, it is a day set aside to recognise
regular voluntary blood donors and to drive home the message of
voluntary blood donation. In Nigeria, voluntary blood donation is still
unpopular due to the numerous beliefs related to blood and the wrong
mindset of expecting money for everything.
I remember my first blood donation clearly; by the way, it was voluntary. It was interesting to note that even though I'm a medical professional, I hadn't donated blood until 2011 when I was on rotation at the cancer ward of the University College Hospital Ibadan. I saw a man who laid in his bed all alone even though visitors were allowed at that time of the day.
I walked up to him to inquire about his situation and why no one was around. He said he wasn't from that part of the country and only the church - Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry (MFM) visited him once in a while. He told me he was scheduled to undergo a surgical procedure but had to be delayed because of the non-availability of 4 people to donate blood for him. He felt hopeless.
The hopeless expression in his eyes made me realize that I just had to donate one pint - 2 or more if I could do that.
I rallied round and asked my colleagues to wage in on the matter. I couldn't stand watching his condition deteriorate due to blood donation. He was lucky, we got four people to donate and the surgery was highly successful.
When I told him he could have the surgery, his face lit up in smiles, 2 lines of tears emerged on his face and the man cried for joy.
"I knew my God would help me; the God that I serve will not forsake me. Thank you my brother, you are truly an angel," he told me, even though I was listening to Olamide's Eni Duro track at the background.
There are many people dying because of this thing called blood donation that doesn't cost us a thing.
I would admit that the procedure was not as dangerous as many people present it to be. It is painless and very quick. In fact, they quickly answer voluntary donors and if you are as lucky as me, you may even make valuable connections in the process.
Nigeria is lagging behind in terms of required quota of voluntarily donated blood in the health system and even though there are lots of wrongdoings in our society, we can be agents of change if we decide to become voluntary blood donors. We could be the reason why someone lives.
Every time someone calls me a sinner for listening to worldly songs, I call myself a lifesaver because someone is living today because of the blood I donated, and this is one of the reasons why we are in this world - to help others.
This year's World Blood Donor Day focuses on "Safe Blood for Saving Mothers". It shines light on the blood transfusion requirement during childbirth - which is a lot. Many pregnant women die because of this. They could be your mum, your wife, your daughter, your sister, your nephew. If they are not your family, they are someone's.
Let's work together, contributing our quota to right the wrong in our healthcare system..
Donate blood to save at least a life in your life time
I remember my first blood donation clearly; by the way, it was voluntary. It was interesting to note that even though I'm a medical professional, I hadn't donated blood until 2011 when I was on rotation at the cancer ward of the University College Hospital Ibadan. I saw a man who laid in his bed all alone even though visitors were allowed at that time of the day.
I walked up to him to inquire about his situation and why no one was around. He said he wasn't from that part of the country and only the church - Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry (MFM) visited him once in a while. He told me he was scheduled to undergo a surgical procedure but had to be delayed because of the non-availability of 4 people to donate blood for him. He felt hopeless.
The hopeless expression in his eyes made me realize that I just had to donate one pint - 2 or more if I could do that.
I rallied round and asked my colleagues to wage in on the matter. I couldn't stand watching his condition deteriorate due to blood donation. He was lucky, we got four people to donate and the surgery was highly successful.
When I told him he could have the surgery, his face lit up in smiles, 2 lines of tears emerged on his face and the man cried for joy.
"I knew my God would help me; the God that I serve will not forsake me. Thank you my brother, you are truly an angel," he told me, even though I was listening to Olamide's Eni Duro track at the background.
There are many people dying because of this thing called blood donation that doesn't cost us a thing.
I would admit that the procedure was not as dangerous as many people present it to be. It is painless and very quick. In fact, they quickly answer voluntary donors and if you are as lucky as me, you may even make valuable connections in the process.
Nigeria is lagging behind in terms of required quota of voluntarily donated blood in the health system and even though there are lots of wrongdoings in our society, we can be agents of change if we decide to become voluntary blood donors. We could be the reason why someone lives.
Every time someone calls me a sinner for listening to worldly songs, I call myself a lifesaver because someone is living today because of the blood I donated, and this is one of the reasons why we are in this world - to help others.
This year's World Blood Donor Day focuses on "Safe Blood for Saving Mothers". It shines light on the blood transfusion requirement during childbirth - which is a lot. Many pregnant women die because of this. They could be your mum, your wife, your daughter, your sister, your nephew. If they are not your family, they are someone's.
Let's work together, contributing our quota to right the wrong in our healthcare system..
Donate blood to save at least a life in your life time
Chibuike Alagboso. Social Media Manager, www.HealthNewsNG.com
As the world joins today to celebrate
individuals all over the world who save lives by donating their blood willingly
and freely, it would be a great honour to support them by proudly sharing my
story and taking part of that praise.
I have always believed in donating blood freely
to save lives because my religious upbringing had no issues with it and my then
visiting Haematology lecturer, Mr Ureme never got tired of telling us the
importance of voluntary non-remunerated blood donation.
However, these didn't move me to donate blood
until 2012 while training as an intern at Jos University Teaching Hospital. My only issue prior to my first
donation was the guts to stand the needle from the bleeding bags. However, I
had no option the day I donated.
As a new intern, I usually visited a colleague
who was in the town before me and training in another health institution. That
evening, he was on call and a pint of blood was needed to save the life of a
woman who sustained bullet wounds from a community clash. I was the only one in
the lab who had the same blood group with her and I had no option than to
overcome my fear of the big needle and help save her life. The relatives asked
how much I was going to charge but were astonished when I told them I wasn't
charging a dime.
The experience was the reverse of what I always
imagined. It was even enjoyable. I owe this however to the expertise and competency
of the technician who bled me.
It felt so good knowing that I just helped save
the life of a fellow human being and I would gladly do it another time.
I salute individuals who take it as a point of
duty to donate their blood frequently for others to live.
Today, the world celebrates them. I am glad to
be one of them and I encourage everyone to do this because it has potential health
benefits.
Got a comment or want to share yours? Comment below or share your experience with us: editor@healthnewsng.com
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