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Multi-pronged approach to attract more young blood donors

I thank Ms Gao Yiting for supporting our #MissingTypeSG campaign (“While campaign raises awareness, do more to help youth donate blood”; Aug 20).

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Benjamin William, Secretary General/Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Red Cross

I thank Ms Gao Yiting for supporting our #MissingTypeSG campaign (“While campaign raises awareness, do more to help youth donate blood”; Aug 20).

During the week-long campaign, which ended on Sunday, individuals and organisations removed the blood group letters A, B and O from their names, signage and branding, to highlight the importance of having a stable and sustainable blood supply.

I am heartened by the support we received and the positive response to the campaign. The message resonated with the youth, and many have shown their support on social media, widening the awareness of the importance of blood donation.

With an ageing population, the future adequacy of supply of safe blood to meet transfusion needs depends on our youth. This is why the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) has embarked on a multi-pronged approach to increase the percentage of youth donors from 28 per cent to 35 per cent of the donor population.

We had earlier initiated the Youth Ambassador Blood Programme to empower young blood ambassadors to plan blood donation initiatives on campuses. We give talks to junior college students on volunteerism and blood donation as a General Paper topic.

In recent months, we have twinned these advocacy initiatives with school-based blood drives. We also organise learning journeys for schoolchildren to the four blood banks at the Health Sciences Authority, Dhoby Ghaut Xchange, Westgate Tower and Woodlands Civic Centre.

Outreach programmes and skits will be rolled out in schools next year. Besides attracting youth blood donors, we hope to inculcate in even the youngest a sense of social responsibility, perhaps leading them to be donors when they are older.

Leveraging social media to amplify our efforts, the SRC has launched the Red Cross Connection mobile app and microsite (giveblood.sg), which share information on the nation’s blood needs, upcoming blood drives, nearest blood banks and alerts when blood groups are needed.

We have also launched a mobile game app, Donor Dash, to interest people in blood donation through gaming. We are confident that these initiatives will nurture future generations of Singaporeans who see blood donation as a responsibility and cornerstone of a resilient community.

Blood connects all of us, saves lives in times of emergency and sustains those with medical conditions every day. Let us continue this conversation on blood donation.

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