Nobel deed: Nazrin (right) and Dr Shaz posing at their blood donation and organ pledging event in Teluk Intan on Jan 31.
IPOH: Seeing how his late father used to require frequent blood transfusion, Nazrin Navin Kumar was inspired to organise regular blood donation drives.
The 47-year-old civil engineer has been organising blood donation drives in his hometown, Teluk Intan, for about 10 years.
“My late father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and required frequent blood transfusion.
“It was from that experience that I realised just how important it is for blood banks to have sufficient amount of blood,” he said when contacted.
“My late father also used to be a frequent blood donor,” he added.
Nazrin said he and his wife, Dr Shaz Ruz, 32, had recently organised a blood donation and organ pledging campaign on Jan 31.
“The organ donation drive was the first for us.
“Hopefully, we can get more to register in the future as we could see many people were curious about it,” he said, adding that about 120 people donated blood while 30 pledged to donate their organs.
He said the campaign was aimed at educating the public on the life-saving impact of organ donation while also encouraging residents to contribute in any way they could.
“The campaign not only aimed to strengthen the blood supply for medical emergencies and potentially save lives through increased organ donor registrations, it also highlighted the importance of public participation in supporting the healthcare system.
“It was also held with the heartfelt intention of giving back to the community and encouraging more people to step forward in support of life-saving causes,” he said.
“We are planning to get a bigger venue and do more promotions for the next campaign, probably after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations,” he added.
Dr Shaz, who is based at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz UKM, said that with Ramadan around the corner, many hospitals would need to stock up on supplies, as few people would donate during the fasting month.
“Malaysia requires at least 2,000 bags of blood daily to meet the demands of patients nationwide,” she said.
She said the general awareness of organ donation was still quite low.
“There is still some fear among the public; hence, we came up with the idea of doing the blood drive to bring in people and then educate them on organ donation as well,” she added.
