Blood Donation Campaign with the Puma 4x4 Club

The Puma 4x4 club is more commonly known for their bold expeditions into the untamed wilderness and dense jungles, but in the concrete jungle, they have their presence too. Besides acts of charity on a couple of occasions in March and August last year, the Puma 4x4 club helps out during blood donation drives too.

Blood donation is a noble act, especially if you have the rare blood type O- coursing through your veins (making you by definition a universal donor). In contrast, those with blood type AB+ are universal recipients.

On this Sunday Morning, the blood donation was held at the Hotel 906, somewhere in Taman Melaka Raya. It was only on that morning did I realize that there were a real whole lot of "budget" hotels, which are simply shop lots converted to hotels, in this general area. Finding exactly which one was the Hotel 906 was not a easy as I thought. With some help from Jackson Goh over the phone, I soon found my way there.

It was drizzling slightly, so I hope that this would not deter aspiring donors from turning up. Luckily, turn out was good, and the beds and registration counters were package with members of the public. Also collaborating with this even was the Melaka CDERT (Civil Defense Emergency Response Team), of which many Puma members were also a part of.

The event was graced by the presence of Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong. Other than the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong seems to be the next prominent figure present at any high-profile social function in Melaka.

I left after the official launching, due to some earlier commitments at lunch time. Nonetheless, the response from the crowd that I observed was encouraging, and I am happy to see that the public is still very much supportive of the blood donation drives, which is an essential and potentially life-saving part of community service. Another successful charity event, helped out by the members of the Puma 4x4 Club!

"Lau Tar" standing by as Jackson received a commemorative plaque from Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong

Kua Beng Guan, my colleague in Vishay, also a member of the CDERT

Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong meeting some of the noble members of the public who came to donate blood

The hall was cramped and packed with makeshift benches for blood donors, and bustling with activity

A familiar face - Tiew Hin Teong, who once worked at Vishay, also coming over to donate blood