If you have not yet given up meat or sweets, you are still in time to do a good deed this Lent: donate blood.
And if you are scared of the sight of a needle, just follow Peter Bartolo’s advice and you will not regret it.
“I was scared stiff of anything to do with needles or syringes, and it is not the first time that I passed out. I cannot even stand seeing them on TV, and I would either change the channel or look away.
“I was convinced that overcoming this fear was impossible,” Mr Bartolo, 28, told this newspaper a few weeks after his first ever donation.
It all started with a rock in Delimara.
Since he is scared of heights, it took Mr Bartolo several attempts to jump off the rock and into the sea.
“Once I took the plunge, the feeling was so overwhelming that I decided I had to overcome all of my fears.”
But he knew that the only way he could overcome his biggest fear was by doing something that would benefit others. Blood donation, he soon realised, was the answer.
So Mr Bartolo sat in for a lecture by change specialist Jackey Backman, held earlier this year in collaboration with the National Blood Transfusion Service centre, on how to overcome fear or anxiety of donating blood.
Once I took the plunge, the feeling was so overwhelming that I decided I had to overcome all of my fears
Mr Bartolo admits that he is still somewhat scared. However, he is actually looking forward to his next visit to the blood donation centre in Guardamangia. The young programmer recalled that knowing he was helping out someone certainly outweighed his concerns and fear.
“I know it is difficult, and I used to believe that I would never ever donate blood. However, keep in mind that there are people in need, for whom blood is a matter of life and death. These people could be someone you know or are related to,” he added when asked what he would tell others who shared his fear.
Dun Mario Mangion has also started donating blood recently.
The 35-year-old archpriest from the Qormi St George Parish never gave blood donation a thought until a Żejtun parishioner, who could no longer give blood, started scouting for prospective donors.
Following his first visit to the donation centre around a year ago, he has since encouraged others to donate blood, and he is usually accompanied by a handful of prospective donors when he heads to Guardamangia.
He believes that one way to build up the courage to donate blood is to head to the centre with a group of friends.
With the onset of the Lady of Sorrows and Good Friday, those among the faithful who are still mulling over the prospect of donating blood could take out a leaf from Mr Bartolo’s and Fr Mangion’s experience.
The NBTS centre, adjacent to St Luke’s Hospital, is open from Monday to Sunday between 8am and 6pm.
To keep updated, look up National Blood Transfusion Service – Malta on Facebook or download the Blood Donors MT app, available on the App Store and Google Play.
Log on to https://health.gov.mt/en/nbts for more information.