Donating Blood and Saving Lives For Pakistan

Some excuses are of course not excuses and genuine reasons, like if someone is anaemic or has been ill recently. Sometimes people are really afraid of needles, and even though I still can’t repress a sigh when I hear “Oh I couldn’t! I’m just too afraid of needles!!!” At least that has a scrap of logic in it. We can’t completely control what we’re scared off, so that excuse I can grant. But when people give you excuses of the sort which makes you wonder if they’re running for the ‘Idiot of the Year Award’, you can’t help but wonder at how blessed they all must be. And also how utterly ignorant of their state of blessedness.

Now allow me to explain to you how I drew forth this conclusion of how those people who aren’t interested in donating blood very blessed. You see, my theory is that whatever excuse people give, the underlying reason is always that they do not have the full realization of the importance of blood donation. They have never had to go through a haranguing experience at a hospital—or anywhere else for that matter—where the life of a loved one hangs in the balance. They have never had to wait outside the operation theater, anxiously waiting for the doctor to come out and tell them the fate of their parent, sibling, child, spouse or a friend.

In last year’s blood camp, I remember a boy who told me about his father who had had a major operation a few months back. His blood was a match, so he had given like 6 bottles in a week. That is obviously extremely dangerous, but it was his father and putting his own life in jeopardy to save his father was a risk worth taking. After such an experience, the last thing that he needed was any form of convincing to come and donate blood.