How to save a life -these five words remind me of a very popular American rock song by 'The Fray', which, according to their lead singer, songwriter and pianist, was composed and influenced by his experience while working as a mentor at a camp for troubled teens. When I googled this song, I found out that even though this was the original intention of the song, this band had opened the meaning to interpretation and even created a website where fans were welcome to submit music videos they had made for this song. While I have no intention to submit any music videos to this website, there is one commendable act that, through this opinion piece I would like to persuade as many Maltese people as possible to participate in - because you could truly save lives.
A simple blood donation may seem like a pretty simple thing to do, but can make a huge difference in the lives of others. It will only involve a few minutes (around an hour) of your time and after the whole process is done, you will even be given refreshments while your body adjusts to the slight decrease in fluid volumes. After that, one can continue with his normal routine as usual but with the difference that you'd be able to enjoy a feeling of accomplishment - that of knowing that you've helped to save lives. Furthermore, each gift of blood can help up to three people and has a shelf-life of up to 42 days.
By now, I know for a fact that some of you reading this article are worrying because they think it might hurt to donate blood. To those who are reluctant to donate blood because of this reason, I can reassure you that there are many other things that hurt as much, if not more than donating blood. Donating blood only hurts for a moment - the jab of the needle when it is inserted feels just that, a prick to the flesh.
Further to the above, contrary to what most people think or what the perception is, humans have blood to spare in their systems. Yet even though many people are able and eligible to give blood, there is still not enough to go around and consequently there are urgent calls in the media for some particular blood type. And while speaking to eligibility, it is important that we set a few things straight. In Malta, anyone who is between 18 and 63 years of age (17-year-olds need parental consent) can donate blood every three months if they are over 50kg in weight, if they are in good health and satisfy the criteria set through the medical screening held before the donation process begins.
Last but not least, one should keep in mind that there might come a day, and for many people this generally happens at some stage or another in their lives, when they will need of blood. This is another reason why we should ensure that blood is on the shelf when needed.
While I hope that I've been able to contribute through this column, even by merely drawing your attention to the need for more blood donations, I am in no way an expert on the subject and will most probably not be able to answer of your questions regarding this subject. Therefore, for more information I encourage you to visit the government portal www.blood.gov.mt or the blood bank in Guardamangia.
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