A few days ago I saw an article published online, detailing the sad plight of blood reserves in Singapore, as they fall to extreme lows. I am glad to have a family who supports these causes by the Red Cross Association of Singapore; with both my parents as doctors. But for these initiatives, for example blood donation drives to increase the blood reserves Singapore has, to work, we all need to play our part. And playing our part starts by understanding the importance of each of our role’s in these intiatives. Blood donation drives are one of the few opportunities organisations and people-in-need have to obtain the blood they require for medical purposes. Every drop of blood donated by each one of us can make a difference. Not only as Singaporeans but also as citizens of the world it is important for us to do our part, and donating blood is one ways of doing so. However, the stigma against blood donation is very much there, and it is our job to advocate against it. The stigma that blood donation may result in dizziness or even fainting because of blood loss is extremely untruthful, and there is zero evidence to prove that donating that single pinprick of blood will cause you to suffer any adverse side effects. In fact, the opposite is true. Donating blood is much like a needle poking you very briefly— the pain is so negligible it is almost nonexistent. Together, we can combat the stigma against blood donation and help to save the dozens of lives that need this blood to live.
Every drop of blood donated by each one of us can make a difference.
Avishi Gurnani 
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