This inspirational story of how a young man on the mainland donated blood 18 times has touched and gripped countless hearts.
As I mentioned earlier in my last essay that teaching those who know nothing about blood donation is tantamount to casting pearls before swine, the vexing problem of a lack of blood donors in Hong Kong remains a running sore.
I, too, am moved by how the 21-year-old man did literally put his money where his mouth is as he devoted himself to assisting those in need.
To contend with the chronic shortage of blood donors in Hong Kong, we, among the 7 million souls in Hong Kong should also do the same. We may not have to donate hair, but for those of us who are able to donate blood, why is the task so unenviable?
As one Weibo user put it, the world is brimful of warmth and love in which we are basking, with such altruistic souls in our community.
Yet to put flesh on my "plan", I believe it is witnessing first-hand that truly speaks volumes. As the adage goes, "you never know how hard someone's job is until you try it yourself." The same holds true for blood donation. We need to learn, for instance, about how a new mother was rendered a hair's breadth from perishing in their perilous journeys of childbirth just due to shortage of blood after childbirth. Harrowing ordeals are likely to prompt people to act because you wouldn't want to fall into such a death trap.
Every sentient human understands how badly patients need blood in order to survive.
And to stop the number of donors falling like a stone, education matters. Yet witnessing first-hand matters a lot more. It will make the penetrating pain palpable.
Comments