National Blood Programme Honours Outstanding Donors on World Blood Donor Day

• 1,500 individuals and groups recognised for their support of the National Blood Programme • First “Blood Donor Tree” Project launched in search of largest family of blood donors in Singapore

Singapore, 12 June 2010 – Blood donors in Singapore celebrated World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) today, and witnessed the presentation of over 1,500 awards to exceptionally committed individuals and corporate/community groups for their support of the National Blood Programme. Held at Clifford Square, the celebrations also included a fun-filled carnival and a special run of the Fullerton Heritage Quest.

2      Mr Heng Chee How, Minister of State (Prime Minister's Office), Mr Matthias Yao, Mayor for South East CDC and Ms Indranee Rajah, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, graced the event and presented the awards to the champion donors at three recognition ceremonies.

3      For the first time, three individuals were conferred the Medals for Life ; a female was crowned Champion of Champion ; and three females were presented with the Diamond awards. Medal of Life recipient, Mr Augustus Chan, who comes from a family of seven brothers all of whom have donated blood, said, “Knowing that my blood is extending someone's life and giving hope to his or her family members is rewarding. Being able to donate now is a blessing as I know I am healthy.”

4      The event also saw beneficiaries of blood transfusions sharing moving testimonials about their new lease of life and their gratitude for having received blood at their point of need. Recounting his two-year-old son's battle against aplastic anemia, a rare blood disorder which required blood transfusions and a bone marrow transplant, Mr Kewin Chew said, “Blood sustained my son's life so he could undergo life-saving medical procedures. My family and I were deeply touched by the love and generosity of complete strangers. My son is now an active 6-year-old, and through my story, I wish to bring hope to others and encourage more to come forth to give the gift of life.”

5      In tandem with the global theme for World Blood Donor Day “New blood for the world”, the Youth Donor Club in Singapore has kick-started the Youth Ambassador Programme, a new initiative to inform and educate secondary school students on the importance of voluntary blood donation. Mr Tee Tua Ba, Chairman of Singapore Red Cross explained, “Youths made up 36% of the total donor population in 2009. Through this youth-to-youth programme, we hope that more youths will be given the correct information on blood donation and be ready and committed to donate blood when they turn 16.”

6      Today, Singapore requires 100,000 units of blood a year due to increasing medical needs. Blood is needed not only to save lives in times of emergencies but to sustain the lives of patients who require regular or immediate blood transfusions. Mr Tee said, “Since our appointment as the National Blood Donor Recruiter in 2001, we have seen a steady increase in the pool of blood donors, from about 40,000 regular donors to over 60,000 in 2009. We are happy to note that 70% of these are repeat donors who have made blood donation an integral part of their lives.”

7      At the event, Minister of State (Prime Minister's Office), Mr Heng Chee How launched the “Someone in My Family is a Blood Donor” Campaign. Its key activity, the “Blood Donor Tree Project”, encourages individuals to track blood donors in their family and celebrate their familial legacy of saving lives by building an online blood donor tree. The project aims to find the largest family of blood donors in Singapore. Blood donors are encouraged to log on to www.blooddonortree.sg where they can plant their own family tree. The competition will run online till 30th September 2010, and the top three largest donor families will be announced on 30th October 2010 at a grand event to celebrate these inspiring families.

SINGAPORE RED CROSS & HEALTH SCIENCES AUTHORITY
SINGAPORE
12 JUNE 2010

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