21 times

I have been looking for my yellow book for sometimes now. In the end after weeks of searching, I decided to go ahead without it. This must be my 21st time donating blood, all the records were in the yellow book. I know the book is somewhere. I am sure that I will manage to find it one of these days - it must be still in one of our boxes.

The blood donation procedure nowadays is slightly different from the past. I was told the changes were made after a recent visit by some American doctors to the hospital!

A form containing a long list of questionnaires had to be filled in beforehand. The form, apparently more suitable for blood donors in the States, contains a lot of questions that touches on one's sexual behaviours and lifestyle! There is also now more restriction on who are eligible to donate. Those who are taking light medicine such as panadol are not even allowed to donate.

The blood unit at RIPAS is quite an efficient one. The whole process took just over half an hour today. At the end I left RIPAS with a punctured arm and 400 ml less blood.

Time to get some refreshment!
Amazingly Bandar was a busy place today. There were traffic jams everywhere. The school holidays should have made people to spend more time in the office, but alas, banks and coffee shops seemed to be the focus instead.