Ravi Believes in Helping Others with His Blood Donation
On average, a person can donate up to four times a year.But for Mr Joseph Ravindran Christie, 58, an operations manager at the Singapore Flyer, it is not enough.
Mr Christie, who has made 203 donations since he was 19, is an apheresis donor. He donates individual blood components such as plasma and platelets besides whole blood donations. It is a draining process for him.
He told The New Paper: "Even though there is a TV to distract us during the donation, it still takes a toll especially now that I'm older."
Apheresis donations take about one to two hours in order to collect a larger amount of each component, compared to the usual 45 minutes for whole blood donations.
He said: "I keep doing it because no matter how exhausted I feel, so many are still dependent on these blood donations."
According to statistics released by the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore, an estimated 118,750 blood units are needed this year.
Mr Christie, who won the Medal for Life during World Blood Donor Day last month - for reaching 200 donations - was first called up to donate blood while doing national service following the explosion and fire on board the oil tanker Spyros in 1978, which led to deaths and injuries.
He said: "It hit me that it was a simple process, it didn't take long. I always remembered the good feeling it gave me."
Mr Christie feels myths about blood donations, like how it is painful and can make you gain weight, can be debunked by raising awareness through stories from those who receive it
"It has to be real for them, they have to connect with the act," he said.
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