Donating Blood in Singapore

In any community the choice to donate blood is a personal one. However, it is a necessity as your donation can save a life. Many people choose to donate blood and when new expats arrive to Singapore, they want to carry on donating as they had done in their home countries. We have all the information from the Ministry of Health in Singapore to make donating blood an easy procedure.

The aim of the National Blood Programme is to collect sufficient quantities of blood to meet the needs of patients in Singapore.

The Singapore Red Cross (SRC) was appointed the national blood donor recruiter in April 2001.

The SRC focuses on 3 main functions in the National Blood Programme:
1. Recruitment and retention of blood donors:
2. In order to ensure a healthy and constant supply of blood at all times, we need to increase the current number of regular blood donors from 1 to 2 per cent of our total residential population by 2010;
3. Promotion and education to increase public awareness on the importance of blood donations:

SRC seeks to inform and educate the public on the importance of a constant supply of blood to help ease or prevent acute shortages during festive periods, school breaks and also in times of emergency; and
Organisation of mobile blood donation drives in the community:

SRC works with various corporations, civic and religious organisations as well as community centres to organise mobile blood drives, thus making it convenient to for the community to donate blood.

If you would like to know more, please get in touch with the Blood Donor Recruitment Programme at 6220 0183.

How Can I Help?

You can support the National Blood Programme:
- By donating blood;
- By being a Bloodmobile organiser:
- Host a mobile blood donation drive at your organisation. Your efforts will go a long way in saving lives, and the event can be a great team-building exercise too!
- Find out how to be a Bloodmobile organiser; or
- By volunteering:

Want to help but not comfortable donating blood? Don't worry, there are other ways you can contribute.

Volunteers play an essential part in the SRC Blood Donor Recruitment Programme.
In 2006, two chapters were set up:

The Blood Donor Club aims to inculcate positive attitudes towards voluntary blood donations. It serves as a platform for likeminded people to network, share their blood donation experiences with other blood donors and encourage regular blood donations; and

The Youth Donor Club targets youth donors aged 16 to 25. It aims to encourage social responsibility among youths through the simple life-saving act of blood donations.
If you wish to be a volunteer, please contact the SRC Donor Recruitment Programme at 6220 0183 to find out more.

Who is eligible to donate:
To ensure your health and well-being, you are encouraged to come forward and make a blood donation only if you:
- Are between 16 and 60 years old;
- Weigh at least 45 kg;
- Have a haemoglobin level of at least 12.5 g/dl;
- Are in generally good health;
- Have not had any symptoms of infection for at least 1 week e.g. sore throat, cough, runny nose, diarrhea; and
- Have not had a fever in the last 3 weeks.

In addition to the above requirements, apheresis donors should also:
- Weigh more than 50 kg;
- Be at least 18 years old;
- Cannot be more than 50 years old (for new apheresis donors only);
- Have donated blood at least once before; and
- Have arm veins of a suitable size.

For more info please visit: http://www.hsa.gov.sg/content/hsa/en/Blood_Services.html