Where are all the young blood donors?

KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) Sabah is trying to improve its blood donation campaign to reach young people.

Its blood donation programme coordinator, Leslie Chan Boon Siang, said that the number of donors aged 18 - 30 in relation to the youth population in Malaysia is very low every year.

"According to records, about 23,000 people in Sabah donated blood and just 27 per cent were young people. This is so little because 70 per cent of Sabah's population is made up of young people.

"We would like to increase the number of young donors to at least 37 per cent," Chan told Bernama, while adding that discussions will be held with hospitals to find ways to widen the campaign reach.

"Recommendations have included using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok to help promote blood donation.

"We will work on increasing campaigns and holding talks with the Sabah Youth Council (MBS) and Sabah Ministry of Youth and Sports for a strategic plan to motivate more young people to donate blood," Chan said.

He said that they will also need to get the word out on the advantages of donating blood to the grassroots.

"We know that maybe this group is afraid of donating blood because they think that giving blood will hurt or that they will run out of it.

"Instead, they need to know that donating blood can benefit their health aside from being a noble humanitarian act," said Chan,

-- BERNAMA