Blood Sharing, a Noble Mission

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Nurirwansyah Putra

Irritated by the practice of blood brokerage in Palembang, South Sumatra, Nurirwansyah Putra was prompted to set up a community of blood donors. Through this community, they donate their blood for the sake of rescuing many patients in dire need of help.

The idea to form a blood donor community struck Nurirwansyah, 28, when he saw Ilham, a 4-month-old suffering from hydrocephalus, lying feebly in Dr Mohammad Hoesin Central Hospital (RSMH) in Palembang in 2012. At the time, Ilham needed type-AB blood for survival.

The man commonly called Nur was all too eager to help the infant, but he couldn’t do it because of his type-B blood. Nur mustered his friends’ support to find the right donor.

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As a result, they found somebody capable of donating blood. Sadly, the blood given by this donor failed to save Ilham’s life.

Besides Ilham, many other patients are facing difficulty to secure blood. Blood supply is getting increasingly scarce in the COVID-19 pandemic as blood donations are disturbed.

“In fact [in whatever situation], blood supply at the PMI [Indonesian Red Cross] will never be proportional to its demand,” Nur said on Friday (29/1/2021).

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In order to maintain blood stocks at the PMI, Nur initiated the blood donor community named Relawan Sumsel (South Sumatra Volunteers) and the Apheresis Blood Union in 2012. So far, through this community, over 1,000 people have donated their blood and around 153 people their thrombocytes (apheresis).

Thrombocytes are badly needed by those who suffer from leukemia and various other kinds of cancer.

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During the pandemic, many COVID-19 patients also need convalescent plasma therapy. Community members who were once infected with COVID-19 and have been declared recovered are encouraged to donate their blood plasma.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Nurirwansyah Putra

Against blood brokers

Amid minimum blood stocks in Palembang, said Nur, some people seek to make a profit through the practice of blood transactions. For a bag of red blood, brokers charge Rp 400,000 (US$28.52), while a bag of thrombocytes is sold at Rp 2.5 million.

This practice is stealthily carried out. When people seem confused about finding blood, blood brokers will approach them and offer their services.

“This is very outrageous,” Nur said with annoyance.

We have donors and they offer their blood for free

Nur strives to oppose the practice. He visits the PMI almost every day. As soon as he sees people in a panic when they fail to obtain blood for patients, Nur promptly moves toward them and says, “We have donors and they offer their blood for free.”

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It indeed is not easy to find donors. The most difficult donors to find are those who have a negative AB blood type. Usually this blood group only belongs to mixed-race people.

Nur’s activism against blood transaction practices certainty irks brokers. They show their displeasure by intimidating Nur.

“I was once threatened to be beaten up. My motorcycle tires have been deflated several times,” said Nur, who claimed to be undeterred by their intimidation.

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However, something has angered Nur more than brokers’ intimidations. While striving to fight blood transactions, he was once accused of being part of the group of blood brokers.

“The allegation disappointed me, but it didn’t prevent me from doing good deeds.”

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Officers from the Indonesian Red Cross Blood Transfusion Unit (PMI) Palembang are taking convalescent plasma, Monday (18/1/2021). Starting in early January, PMI opened services for conventional donors with the aim of helping covid-19 patients.

‘Blood Nur’

Nur has been actively donating his blood since 2012. When some patients need blood and their blood type is the same as Nur’s, he willingly contributes his blood. If they need other blood types, he will immediately search for suitable donors.

For over eight years, Nur has donated his blood more than 100 times, some were thrombocyte donations. His “hobby” of donating blood has given his right arm a keloid in the spot where the needle pierces his skin. He also often has bruises on his arm.

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Owing to his too frequent blood donations, Nur once had to be hospitalized for a week. He started paying more attention to the required interval between donations. Since then, he has observed the blood donation rule of donating once every two months.

Nothing is more painful than when I see people in need of blood but I can’t do anything to help.

As a blood donor, Nur is quite popular in RSMH Palembang. He is nicknamed “Nur Darah” (Blood Nur).

“When blood is needed, they [patients or the hospital] will certainly contact me. Fortunately, there are donors who voluntarily contribute their blood,” said Nur.

Actually, continued Nur, donating blood can be painful for him. For apheresis donors, the needle is even bigger than that for ordinary blood donors, like a soft-drink straw.

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“When I get my blood drawn, I never look at the needle,” Nur said.

Although the experience can be painful, he is determined to continue to be a donor. The pain he feels, according to him, is far less than the suffering of those seriously ill.

“Nothing is more painful than when I see people in need of blood but I can’t do anything to help,” said the father of one.

KOMPAS/SEKAR GANDHAWANGI

Blood bags collected from a blood donation event at Avalokitesvara Vihara, West Jakarta, Sunday (31/1/2021).

Nur feels very grateful to be able to form a community with many people who wish to sincerely donate their blood. He said a member of his community once traveled about 98 kilometers from Rimau Island, Banyuasin regency, to Palembang to donate his blood to a cancer patient.

“Just imagine, he spent Rp 500,000 [US$35.67] in order to be able to donate his blood to somebody he didn’t know personally.”

Most of the donors in Relawan Sumsel and the Apheresis Blood Union are those wishing to be engaged in humanitarian activities. Others were once helped by Nur when they needed blood a transfusion.

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For Relawan Sumsel members, donating blood is as one way for them to share with fellow humans.

“We don’t know how to go to heaven, but by sharing our blood, at least we have a way of performing acts of virtue,” he said.

Through the noble activity, noted Nur, he became even more aware that humans cannot live alone on Earth; humans are dependent on one another.

There’s indeed no direct impact enjoyed by Nur from blood-sharing. But he has felt incessant blessings since he became a blood donor. Even his business as an event organizer has originated from the people he knows in the community.

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“We don’t make profit from blood donations but there has always been good fortune coming from other sources,” he said, expressing his gratefulness.

Therefore, said Nur, he never got tired of inviting people to be blood donors. This has the aim of carrying on the noble mission of helping fellow humans.

“Previously, I was seeking donors among school students; now, donors are coming from different professions and occupations,” Nur said.

To date, Nur has been very actively calling on people to become donors. To those he meets with, including the Kompas journalist interviewing him, he makes the offer, “Are you ready to be a donor?”

Nurirwansyah Putra

Born: Palembang, June 19, 1992

Wife: Aprilia

Child: Nur Bahira Alula Rizky

Education:

- State Primary School 236 Palembang

- State Junior High School 9 Palembang

- State Senior High School 6 Palembang

Social activity:

- Chairman, Relawan Sumsel Donor Community and Apheresis Blood Union

- Blood donor

Occupation: Endless Creative Production Event Organizer Entrepreneur

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.