Here’s How You Can Be A Hero In 2020

If I were to ask you to name some superheroes right now, what would you say?

Would it be Batman? Iron Man? Brunei’s first superhero Tebuanman?

But what if I told you that not all heroes wear capes?

In fact, they are all around us.

And you can be one too.

How, you ask? Well, all you have to do is to be a blood donor.

After all, these are the people who are saving lives every single day.

Did you know that in Brunei Darussalam, the Blood Donation Centre conducts blood drives every day, even on Fridays, Sundays and public holidays? Why? Well, it’s because people’s lives depend on it.

Not All Heroes Wear Capes … Terry Thoo, a Lions Club of Belait member, who will be turning 72 years old in February 2020, has been a long time blood donor. Terry, who is pictured here in this 2018 file photo, donated blood during a campaign that was held at NBT Toyota Kuala Belait

According to Ms Chong Kim Moi, the Head of Blood Donation Centre, just missing two days will have a considerable impact on the nation’s blood supply.

This is why the Blood Donation Centre has been proactive in its efforts to get more people to donate blood.

So much so that you’ll often see blood donation drives at shopping malls, schools and offices on a daily basis.

Officers from the centre would even go the extra mile by contacting blood donors via SMS or phone calls whenever there is an urgent need of a particular type of blood. There are also contingency plans to contact the Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) and other uniformed services to mobilise their staff to donate blood.

To encourage the public to donate blood, blood donors are entitled to the privileges as specified in the Ministry of Health’s Scheme of Charges. For instance, blood donors are eligible to park their vehicles at the basement parking of RIPAS Hospital whereby their parking tickets will be waived for a maximum stay of two (2) hours when they donate at the Blood Donation Centre, RIPAS Hospital.

According to Ms Chong, the last 10 years have shown a gradual increase in the number of blood collection, albeit a slight dip in 2018. Nonetheless, the Blood Donation Centre has managed to provide for all patients with their needs. There have been no instances where patients did not receive any blood transfusion or blood products as ordered by doctors.