The Covid-19 virus has resulted in fears for people who would wish to donate blood and has subsequently caused the number of blood donors to decrease. But a steady stream of blood supply is still necessary for our hospitals to treat emergency cases as well as chronic anaemia and thalassemia patients.
Although there remains a critical need for the supply of blood, the National Blood Centre (PDN) has advised Malaysians to not donate blood if they have just received their Covid-19 vaccine. In a post that was shared yesterday (12 September) on Facebook, Malaysians were asked to abstain from donating blood for seven days after receiving their Covid-19 vaccinations if they have no side effects.
In the post, PDN wrote, “We highly encourage blood donors to get vaccinated to ensure the protection of themselves as well as others.”
“If a vaccine recipient had any minor side effects, they could donate blood seven days after fully recovering from the side effects.”
The centre also stated that those receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines should follow its advisory regarding blood donations.
PDN highly encourages blood donors to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to protect themselves and other members of society. “Blood donors can donate blood during the interval period between the first and second Covid-19 dose.”
Furthermore, it said that those who received vaccines that are still under clinical studies by the Ministry of Health (KKM), would need to wait 12 months after the final dose in order to donate blood.
If you are eligible and meet the criteria to donate blood, please do so to help someone in need. But do make sure that you have already surpassed the seven days necessary.
What do you think of this? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: Here’s How To Safely Donate Blood During A Pandemic WITHOUT Going To The Hospital!
