Hello everybody,
I would like to thank all of our blood donors, including those who stopped donating because they are no longer eligible and those who tried donating but were unfortunately ineligible. I would also like to thank blood drive organisers for their commitment in helping us in our mission to provide safe and sustainable blood for our patients. Many thanks goes to the police force, chaplains, local councils and work places who also give us a helping hand in making our blood drives possible. Without this collective support, treatment and surgery for our patients would not be possible, and such scenario is not even imaginable.
We are today facing challenges that I dont consider as new, however they are definitely more difficult to overcome. We already knew that Malta's population is aging and that the busy lifestyle is allowing less time for the thought of donating blood. We equally knew that certain infective diseases, promiscuity, travelling, and other factors will decrease our donor population, but I still insist that there is a big part of the Maltese population who are eligible to donate blood and do not even think or imagine themselves as blood donors.
This short message is intended for these people, who are eligible to donate blood but never came for some reason. My personal experience has shown that if I were to ask them why they never considered becoming a blood donor, many of them would simply not know. It really is a pity because blood is a national assurance to all and no one knows when they would be needing blood. Why wait for personal experience to become aware that blood can save lives?
I hope that by this short message, I will manage to at least make some people think about this subject. However, action proves to be more important than thinking. Please, build up some courage and do something special for yourself and others. Come and give blood.
Angelo Degiorgio
Manager Blood Donation Services