In 2014, there were about 69,000 blood donors – about 1.8 per cent of Singapore’s population. Bloody hell, that’s below the international standard of 3 per cent. But with the latest satellite blood bank, the number of donors is expected to increase, in order to meet the increasing national blood demand – over 220,000 units of blood would be required every year by 2030 due to the ageing population.
In an interview with Channel NewsAsia, Singapore Red Cross (SRC) Secretary General and CEO Benjamin William said that at least 120,000 units of blood are needed this year, but the target of 50% after this half of the year has not been hit.
With the new Bloodbank@Westgate Tower, residents living in the Western part in Singapore will find it more convenient to donate blood and no longer have to worry about making an arduous journey home after some blood loss. This new blood collection centre has the capacity to collect 100 units of blood daily, and is the latest addition to Singapore’s list of blood banks: Bloodbank@HSA, Bloodbank@Woodlands and Bloodbank@Dhoby Ghaut.
In conjunction with the opening of the new blood collection centre, an exhibition on the National Blood Programme has been put up at the foyer of Jurong East MRT station, and it is open to the public from now till July 5. If you can, donate blood today, it’s not that bloody hard!
Photo: Banc de Sang i Teixits via Flickr
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