Before coming to Mungeli, I have never given blood before, I didn't even know my blood type. Due to lack of donors, the blood bank at Christian Hospital Mungeli is in constant shortage. Most of time, the patient's family members must donate blood on the spot if a blood transfusion is needed. After hearing about this, my friend Paige (who is a nurse) and I decided to give blood for the hospital to provide to future patients.
After completing the blood test, I found out that I was eligible to give and that my blood type was O+, meaning that all Rh positive blood types can receive my blood. I was a bit nervous about the procedure, since I have never had that much blood drawn out of my body before. The process only took about 5 minutes, which was very surprising, and I didn't feel too different afterwards, only a bit tired.
The next day, we were told that Paige's blood had already been given. The receiver was man who was brought in from a motorbike accident in the middle of the night. My blood was given close to a week later to an elderly woman with type O+, she was extremely anemic due to multiple myeloma, a cancer that starts from the bone marrow. It was quite moving to experience the whole blood giving and receiving process. For me, the process did not just stop with seeing a sealed bag of blood, I had the chance to trace my donation all the way to the receiver at the hospital. Only then did I fully grasp the importance of giving blood, for one's decision to give could save another's life.
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