Hello everyone! Today, I am about to share two important experiences I’ve come across in my life. Let me go back to the time where the Vice-President of the Community Service Avenue, Anjana, called me on WhatsApp and asked me whether I’d like to chair SIST’s Blood Donation Project. At that moment, I felt a little nervous as I started doubting myself whether I was capable of doing such a duty. Questions such as, “Will I be able to do a good job?”, “Will everything go smooth”, or “Am I eligible to donate blood”?, ran through my head at every glance. But, I said “Yes I can!” and took forth the challenge. As a committee member of the Community Service Avenue, I was proud. At one point, I was worried but I knew this was the perfect moment, not just to donate blood but to chair a project as well. I’m glad I got the chance to donate blood for the very first time on the same project which I was chairing. In my case, it wasn’t just one first experience but two!
During my school days, I always imagined donating blood but I never had the chance to since I wasn’t above 18 yet. As soon as I got to know about this project, I immediately asked permission from my dad, but he sadly declined at first. At that moment I was disappointed and a bit upset with him. However, when I asked him why, he said that it was because he had got jaundice back in the 1980s when he donated blood himself. I was shocked and scared after hearing this. He said that back in the days, sterilization methods weren’t so accurate and that he might have got jaundice due to the same needle being used for every donor. I then realized his ‘No’ meant nothing but the love and safety a father could give to his daughter. Anyhow, I somehow managed to get his permission as I explained to him how blood donation procedures are far more advanced now than in the early days. Alongside this reason, the covid-19 situation also scared him but he gladly let me continue.
On the day of the blood donation campaign, I was nervous yet excited. Initially, I planned to donate blood at the end of the event since I was a chairperson who had other things to take care of such as providing food for the donors. Since there weren’t many donors present at the start of the campaign, I decided to go along, and surprisingly, I turned out to be the first person to donate blood from our campaign. Before donating blood, there were a few forms that had to be filled regarding our health conditions. After that, a checkup was done by a doctor mainly focusing on the blood pressure levels. After the checkup, the hemoglobin levels were checked by pricking the finger, and honestly, it didn’t hurt at all as I imagined. After checking all my conditions, a small red book with an imprint of my name was handed over to me. I was very fortunate to receive it since I never had one for myself. In that book, details such as the number of times we had donated blood and our blood group are recorded down. Thereafter, I was sent to the blood donating room, where many kind nurses laid me down on a hospital bed and handed me a stress ball to hold. I was a bit nervous at this point, but I stayed strong. The nurse who was going to prick the needle onto my arm asked me whether I was scared and if this was my first time donating blood. She could definitely tell I was by my facial expressions. I nodded with a smile. “Don’t be scared, it’s going to be alright”, she said to me. After that, she pricked the needle onto my arm. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt at all and it only felt like an ant sting. I was smiling throughout the procedure and to my wonderment, one pint of blood was filled in less than 5 minutes. The nurse told me that I was well hydrated and that, that was the reason why it took less than 5 minutes. I felt like a heroine who saved the lives of 3 human beings. I left the blood donating room with a big smile on my face, thinking how blessed I am to help people who are in need because not everyone will have the required health conditions to be a blood donor. As soon as I left the room, I was treated with a food pack and a milk packet. I enjoyed the meal and was relieved that I didn’t face any issues during the donation. After a while, several donors from our college and several outsiders also participated in this good cause. This has got to be one of the best and memorable days of my life!
SIST’s blood donation campaign was initially planned to be held in November 2020, but unfortunately, it got postponed due to the prevailing situation in the country. Therefore, my co-chairperson, Chanuka and I worked on organizing and planning this event from January 2021, since we heard the postponed date was finalized for 18th February 2021. Chanuka and I along with Anjana and Mineshi worked hard until 17th February to make this event a success. I was able to manage my works as a chairperson and it progressively got easier due to teamwork done by my
kind and helpful co-chairperson. I take this moment to thank, the Vice-president of the Community Service Avenue, Anjana Kavinda and the Director of the Community Service Avenue, Mineshi Kanagarajan, for trusting me and giving me this opportunity to chair this wonderful project. Most importantly, I would like to thank my co-chairperson, Chanuka Amarasekara for helping me throughout. With the help of these kind people, chairing a project for the first time was simple and smooth. At the end of the day, it was a good cause and the project ended as a success. Again, a big thank you to everyone who helped to make this event a success. My first experience as a blood donor and a chair person was great!