“The
most precious gift I could give to my brother is part of me.
My blood,” says Zukri as he clutches to his chest a bag
of B-positive blood that he donated earlier to the Indonesian
Red Cross (PMI).
“I hope my blood will save his life,” adds Zukri,
who is visibly worried about his younger brother Jamaludin,
who suffers from severe anaemia.
Zukri, 38, who works as a government employee, says that this
is the first time he has donated blood. “I didn’t
realize the importance of giving blood until my own brother
needed it. From now on, I will regularly give blood to the Red
Cross to save more lives,” Zukri adds. “I felt light
and very good after I gave blood.”
At Zainoel Abidin hospital in Banda Aceh, Jamaludin’s
face lights up as he watches his brother’s blood flowing
into his veins.
He reaches for Zukri’s hand: “Thank you brother.”
The Indonesian Red Cross is the only agency since 1980 which
is authorized by the government to collect blood from volunteer
donors, and to process, store and dispense it to patients.
The Indonesian Red Cross has a total of 188 blood transfusion
units across the country, including three in Banda Aceh, Aceh
Utara and Aceh Timur districts in Aceh province.
When the December 2004 tsunami destroyed the blood unit in Banda
Aceh, the Indonesian Red Cross headquarters in Jakarta immediately
sent blood-processing equipment – donated by the private
company Chevron and the government of Luxembourg – to
meet the needs of the emergency.
Soon after, the Australian Red Cross provided a mobile blood
unit in order scale up the blood service in the region.
To further boost the Indonesian Red Cross blood programme, the
Australian Red Cross – supported by the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) in coordination with the International
Federation – will build a blood transfusion centre in
Aceh, as well as provide equipment, from refrigerators for blood
storage, to centrifuges to separate blood components such as
red and white blood cells, platelets and plasma.
“The building will not only provide blood transfusion
services to the public, but will also serve as the venue for
the training of human resources,” says Karen Medica, blood
services manager at the Australian Red Cross. The Australian
Red Cross will also send medical experts to Aceh so that local
paramedics can be trained to use the new technology that will
be installed in the new centre. The Australian Red Cross also
plans to provide mobile vans to reach out to more volunteer
blood donors.
Delfina, a medical technician who has been with the Indonesian
Red Cross blood transfusion unit for more than 15 years, says
the blood centre and new technology donated by the Australian
Red Cross will be a milestone in the history of Indonesian Red
Cross blood programme, which is the only source of blood for
people in Aceh. “I can hardly wait for the new blood centre
to be built.”
Dr Muhammad, director of the blood transfusion unit in the Indonesian
Red Cross Banda Aceh branch, says that the new blood centre,
blood facilities and mobile vans will enable the Indonesian
Red Cross to scale up its promotion of voluntary blood donation,
whilst ensuring healthy and safe blood.
According to Dr Muhammad, there is huge gap in the blood supply
in Aceh, with only an average of five donors coming in each
day to give 250cc of blood each.
“With an average of 25–30 people needing blood every
day, and at least one to three units of blood each, we are never
able to cope unless the patient brings their own donor along,”
says Dr Muhammad.
“Our objective in the PMI blood service is to motivate
people to voluntarily give their blood, so others may live,
regardless whose lives they save,” Dr Muhammad stresses.
To achieve its aim, the Indonesian Red Cross promotes and conducts
voluntary blood donation in schools and offices, and during
special events in Aceh. It also distributes flyers, puts up
banners and makes public service announcements on the radio
to help boost the blood campaign. The Indonesian Red Cross presents
certificates to regular donors to thank and reward them for
their contribution.
So far, the Indonesian Red Cross Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar branches
have 350–400 members of the Blood Donors Club who regularly
give blood every three months. Dr Muhammad says that they will
redouble their efforts to recruit more blood donors especially
among young people.
“We will organize something similar to ‘Pledge 25’
of the Philippine National Red Cross where members aged 18–25
commit to give blood regularly, or, if they are not qualified,
recruit blood donors instead.
“There is no substitute for blood. We cannot produce blood.
We have to make voluntary blood donation a way of life in Aceh
so that we can help save more lives,” stresses Dr Muhammad.
“The more lives we save through the blood programme, the
more we live up to the humanitarian ideals of the Red Cross
Red Crescent Movement.”
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Zukri,
a 38-year-old government employee, donates blood for the
first time to the Indonesian Red Cross for his younger
brother who is suffering from severe anaemia. “The
most precious gift I could give to my brother is part
of me. My blood,” he says. (p14501)
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Indonesian
Red Cross (PMI) technician Delfina examines Zukri’s
blood to ensure it is safe. (p14504)
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Zukri
stays by his brother’s bedside while the doctor
carries out the blood transfusion. “I hope my blood
will save his life,” adds Zukri, who is visibly
worried about his younger brother Jamaludin. (p14502)
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The
opening ceremony of the new blood centre in Aceh, which
was developed Australian Red Cross – and supported
by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
in coordination with the International Federation –
will build a blood transfusion centre in Aceh, as well
as provide equipment, from refrigerators for blood storage,
to centrifuges to separate blood components such as red
and white blood cells, platelets and plasma. (p14506)
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Dr
Muhammad, director of blood transfusion unit in the Indonesian
Red Cross Banda Aceh branch, says that they will redouble
their efforts to recruit more blood donors especially
among young people. So far, the Indonesian Red Cross Banda
Aceh and Aceh Besar branches have 350–400 members
of the Blood Donors Club who regularly give blood every
three months. (p14507)
The Indonesian Red Cross has a total of 188 blood transfusion
units across the country, including three in Banda Aceh,
Aceh Utara and Aceh Timur districts in Aceh province.
(p14508)
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