Letters | Blood donation needles are safe, but this needs pointing out to the older generation
Besides the misconceptions regarding blood donation mentioned by Ms Wong, there are other factors that we have to consider.
For example: the much more conservative older generation who are against their children donating blood, for fear that the needle used for collecting the blood is not one-time use only, and may be contaminated.
I remember that during my school years in the 1990s, my secondary school had a blood donation day each year, and the first time I came across it was when I was in Secondary 3.
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However, no matter how much I wanted to participate in that meaningful activity in school the next day, my mother objected to signing the consent form for fear that the needle may be contaminated, as she was not sure whether the needle used by the Red Cross would be discarded after one use.
Only after much protest did my mother sign the form eventually.
This will certainly take some time, as the deep-rooted prejudice regarding the safety of needles used for blood donation cannot be changed overnight.
Eunice Li, Shanghai