Materia Medica Malaysiana

All ethnic groups donate blood, says Chua

KUALA LUMPUR: Statistics show that all ethnic groups in Malaysia were donating blood, dispelling the perception that there were communities which were not willing to be blood donors, Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said.

He said in the Klang Valley last year, 45% of donors to the National Blood Bank were Malays, while 43% were Chinese and 8% Indians.

Until July this year, the breakdown was 51% for Malays, 37% Chinese, 8% Indians and the rest made up of other ethnic groups and fo-reigners.

Speaking to reporters after launching the National Association of Malaysian Life Insurance and Financial Advisors’ (Namlifa) Nationwide Blood Donation campaign at his ministry yesterday, Chua said it was clear that the taboos and superstitions linked to blood donation were disappearing.

Chua said that an annual increase of 8% in the blood bank supply would be enough to meet demand.

He said last year, the amount of blood donated increased by 8.7%, with 418,118 units donated, compared to 387,711 units in 2001.

Namlifa president Phang Siang Yang said its nationwide blood donation campaign would be held between Aug 11 and Aug 17.