Blood Donation
On November 16, 2024, 1:00-6:00 PM at Oriental Hall, 1st Floor, a blood donation drive was initiated by the Philippine Red Cross Team of Dumaguete. Every year it has been my tradition to give the gift of life to those in need by donating my blood. So, I went there and volunteered to be a blood donor.
I gained patience, empathy and altruism, stress management skills, and resilience as I went along with the blood donation activity. Unlike others, it takes me a longer time to recover from donating blood, even though I have the prescribed health requirements for it. But I patiently lay down in the recovery area just to fulfill my role as a blood donor. I like donating blood as someone who cares a lot for the sick. I know what it feels like to be in an emergency, so I choose to be a good helper in advance by giving a piece of my life to others. Donating blood for 2 consecutive years now has lessened my stress in seeing blood out of my body. It made me resilient to pain and now eager to donate blood. Initially I thought many people would come to donate like last year, but it surprised me to see there were fewer donors now. But the optimism and perseverance of the Red Cross Team left me with the impression that they were doing a great job in accommodating the blood donors, despite being sad having the lack of it. It made me appreciate the team more for their advocacy and determination to carry out this event.
This experience has taught me to impart my care for those in need. 24/7, emergencies are working around the clock. With blood loss happening in more than 50% of these cases, it made me see blood as more than just a mere liquid flowing in my body. I saw it as a gift of life I can give to others as someone who has an abundant amount of it.
Because of this activity, I am now a full-fledged blood donor, committed to helping the Philippine Red Cross Team in fulfilling their cause and initiatives.