A helping hand: A nurse assists a donor during a blood donation program at Jakarta’s Red Cross office in Central Jakarta. (JP/P.J. Leo)" border="0" height="333" width="500">A helping hand: A nurse assists a donor during a blood donation program at Jakarta’s Red Cross office in Central Jakarta. (JP/P.J. Leo)

Ali and several of his colleagues gather at Jakarta’s Indonesian Red Cross blood donation unit with a similar purpose — to save a friend’s life.

Together, they were sitting around a dining table at the unit’s cafe — some were resting, while others finished their steaming bowls of instant noodles. They had just donated their blood.

“We’re here because one of our colleagues is in need of type B+ blood. Some of us have the O blood type, so we cannot directly help him but we made the donation anyway just to help out,” said 33-year-old Ali, who works for a water theme park in Tangerang, Banten.

He attributed his habit of donating blood to his company, which hosted blood donation events regularly. “I’ve donated blood at least twice a year since 2008,” Ali said.

His colleague, 34-year-old Bantas, believed that donating blood somehow made people healthier.

“I don’t know the scientific argument but physically, after donating my blood, I feel better. I think it’s like giving my body a chance to renew my blood cells,” he said.

Mahmud was one of the day’s saviors. The 22-year-old shared a similar blood type to their colleague. They declined, however, to provide details of their friend’s illness.

“I’m very happy that my blood was a match. I feel relieved that I can do something for my friend,” said the youngest in the group who works as a lifeguard at the water park.

The group came just in time as B-type blood was in limited supply at the Red Cross. Their friend was probably not the only one in need of such blood.

Deputy chief of Jakarta’s Red Cross blood donation unit, Ni Ken Ritchie, admitted that low blood supply was a chronic problem for the organization.

A

span class="inline inline-none">A helping hand: A nurse assists a donor during a blood donation program at Jakarta'€™s Red Cross office in Central Jakarta. (JP/P.J. Leo)

Ali and several of his colleagues gather at Jakarta'€™s Indonesian Red Cross blood donation unit with a similar purpose '€” to save a friend'€™s life.

Together, they were sitting around a dining table at the unit'€™s cafe '€” some were resting, while others finished their steaming bowls of instant noodles. They had just donated their blood.

'€œWe'€™re here because one of our colleagues is in need of type B+ blood. Some of us have the O blood type, so we cannot directly help him but we made the donation anyway just to help out,'€ said 33-year-old Ali, who works for a water theme park in Tangerang, Banten.

He attributed his habit of donating blood to his company, which hosted blood donation events regularly. '€œI'€™ve donated blood at least twice a year since 2008,'€ Ali said.

His colleague, 34-year-old Bantas, believed that donating blood somehow made people healthier.

'€œI don'€™t know the scientific argument but physically, after donating my blood, I feel better. I think it'€™s like giving my body a chance to renew my blood cells,'€ he said.

Mahmud was one of the day'€™s saviors. The 22-year-old shared a similar blood type to their colleague. They declined, however, to provide details of their friend'€™s illness.

'€œI'€™m very happy that my blood was a match. I feel relieved that I can do something for my friend,'€ said the youngest in the group who works as a lifeguard at the water park.

The group came just in time as B-type blood was in limited supply at the Red Cross. Their friend was probably not the only one in need of such blood.

Deputy chief of Jakarta'€™s Red Cross blood donation unit, Ni Ken Ritchie, admitted that low blood supply was a chronic problem for the organization.

True blood: Red Cross staff gather donated blood. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
'€œBlood donation is a voluntary act and a blood donation center like ours definitely depends on donors,'€ said the woman, who has been working for the Red Cross for more than 10 years.

Support for blood donation programs has made significant progress in Jakarta, with a mass blood donation event gathering up to 1,500 blood bags in a single day. The Red Cross'€™ mobile unit can collect as many as 1,000 blood bags a day.

Institutions '€” such as churches, temples and neighborhood units '€” have conducted regular blood donation events. Some even hold such events once every three months.

'€œSuch events are very helpful to replenish our stock,'€ Ni Ken said.

The lean times, she said, would usually hit during holiday seasons, such as the Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year celebrations.

She said on average, Jakarta'€™s Red Cross blood center needed some 900 bags of blood every day to be distributed to blood banks at hospitals or clinics. But during holiday seasons, the blood center could only get around 100 blood bags a day.

During this time, the Red Cross will usually ask the patient'€™s family members to become donors. As a backup plan, it has also arranged with the Army as well as the Presidential Security Detail to get blood donations from their members.

Ni Ken also appreciated the Indonesian Ulema Council'€™s (MUI) advice, which encourages Muslims to donate their blood during the fasting month of Ramadan. The advice, she said, allowed for a regular supply of blood donors to the Red Cross, at least until the third week of the fasting month '€” before people leave for their hometowns to celebrate Idul Fitri.

But the main sticking issue was the low number of donors for A and AB blood types, she said.

In general, she said, the Red Cross received enough donors for the O blood type, which account for about 48 percent of overall donors. For A and B blood types, the donors are at about 25 percent.

'€œBut demand for the A blood type is quite high so we often run out of supply. As for AB, we only have a small number of donors. We badly need more donations for both blood types,'€ Ni Ken says.

The weakening of the country'€™s currency against the US dollar was another issue as most of the components needed to process donated blood '€” such as blood bags, equipment to examine the blood type, screenings for possible illnesses and the final checking process before the blood can be used for transfusion '€” are imported, mostly from Japan, Singapore, the US and some European countries.

'€œAs of today, the blood processing cost is around Rp 250,000 (US$20.80) per bag. With the ongoing rate, I think we need to make adjustments,'€ Ni Ken says.

Blood donations are badly needed for those suffering from blood cancer, thalassemia and hemophilia as well as those in need of hemodialysis.

Donated blood is also crucial for surgery, child birth and trauma treatments.

Out there, many patients'€™ family members are still taking the blood bags themselves to the patients.

'€œIdeally, each hospital has a blood bank to get the blood from us and keep it before distributing it to patients '€” or at least a trained courier for the blood,'€ Ni Ken says. '€œBut in Jakarta, out of some 100 hospitals, there are only 41 hospitals which have blood banks.'€

Ali has no problem in donating his blood, believing that it is the simplest thing people can do to help others.

'€œIf we don'€™t have enough financial means, we can give our blood in the name of humanity,'€ he says.

He is a firm believer that everyone is in need of each other in life.

'€œToday, maybe it'€™s me who helps other people. But perhaps, on another day, it'€™s me who will be in need of help,'€ Ali says.