Helping to heal: SEGi University medical student (left) tending to a blood donor at the Sibu Hospital, where the blood donation campaign took place.
THE Covid-19 pandemic has caused a drastic drop in the number of blood donors in these two months.
This has resulted in the rapid depletion of blood supply in hospitals nationwide, according to the National Blood Centre (PDN).
Responding to PDN’s plea for donors, the SEGi University Medical Society (SUMS) in Sibu organised a blood donation campaign at the Sibu Hospital.
SUMS president Edwin Loh Mun Kit said a total of 21 pints of blood were collected on May 6.
“Our members worked with staff from SEGi’s Faculty of Medicine and Diabetes Malaysia to encourage our peers who are still on campus during the movement control order to help make the blood donation drive a success, ” he said.
He added that the society was happy to assist the hospital and that all necessary precautions and safety measures were taken during the campaign to ensure the safety of donors and staff.
“Only healthy donors without any Covid-19 symptoms were allowed to donate. We also ensured that they had not been in close contact with Covid-19 patients.”
SUMS, he said, has been proactive in organising community outreach programmes such as free health screenings and awareness campaigns, and fundraising activities.