We recently spoke to a father whose journey with blood donation began in an unexpected moment and whose life was forever changed. Now, he’s spreading the word, determined to share the importance of blood donation with his family, friends, and especially his 13-year-old son, who’s eagerly counting down the years until he can donate alongside his dad.
“I used to walk by the blood donation clinics at Promenade Mall,” he recalls, “never giving them much thought. Blood donation seemed like something for someone else to do. It wasn’t on my radar at all.”
But on October 28, 2012, that changed. He was playing cricket in Bergvliet, absorbed in the game, when he received the life-changing call: his wife had given birth to their baby boy – three months earlier than expected.
His excitement to meet his son was met with a stark reality. “When I saw him, my heart broke,” he shares, his voice touched with emotion. “He was so tiny, he could fit right in my hand. I knew from that moment my world would never be the same.” For the next four months, he visited his son daily, holding him close for skin-to-skin ‘kangaroo care,’ feeling the strength and fragility of his new life in his arms.
Through each visit, a cloud of uncertainty loomed, with every hospital call causing his heart to skip a beat. Then one day, the news came: his son needed a blood transfusion. His first thought was that his own blood could help. “Why not take my blood? I’m his father!” he remembers asking. But he wasn’t a match, and the blood needed would come from a stranger, a blood donor who had unknowingly given his son a chance at life.
That realization struck a powerful chord. Someone he’d never met was stepping in to help his son in his most critical time. “I promised myself right then that I’d become a blood donor,” he says. “Not just for my son, but for all the people out there who might need that same lifeline – people I’ll probably never meet, just like the donor who saved my boy.”
Since then, blood donation has become a family tradition, a value he’s woven into the lives of those around him. His son, now 13, has already embraced this legacy and can’t wait to turn 16, the age at which he can finally join his father in donating. Together, they look forward to the day when they can give side by side, symbolizing the power of generational giving.
But the message doesn’t stop with his son. Through stories and conversations, he’s making sure his entire family and circle of friends understand the vital role blood donors play. “It’s not just about me giving blood. It’s about creating a legacy of compassion,” he says. By involving his children, he’s showing them that even small acts can make a life-saving impact, giving them a sense of purpose in a world that sometimes feels too vast to make a difference.
“Consider teaching your children about blood donation and make it a family tradition. The gift of life is one of the most powerful things we can pass on to the next generation. Together, we can build a community of donors, one family at a time.” He says.
