A MYANMAR non-government organisation, the Mingalar Byuhar Association, has called on volunteer blood donors to include accurate personal information on their donor registration forms to help the association gather comprehensive donor records.

U Aung Myo Min, the secretary of the association’s blood donation subcommittee, said volunteer blood donors should fill in information such as name, age, blood type, address, first and last donation dates, and donation numbers correctly.

“The association is now transferring this information into a computerised system,” he said.

The association, which holds blood donation ceremonies every two months, has about 1000 volunteer donors, who must complete registration forms from the National Blood Centre every time they give blood.

“This information is important because the association uses it to send cards to blood donors to remind them of their donation dates,” he said.

He said donors should inform the association if they change their address and phone numbers, and should also change their age and blood donation numbers when necessary.

“Some don’t pay much attention to the forms so it causes confusion when we can’t tell whether they have donated before,” U Aung Myo Min said.

He said the association provides blood to the National Blood Centre but is not yet able to directly connect donors with needy patients in emergency cases.

“We need not only personal information from donors but also many other resources to provide contact between needy patients and donors of similar blood type,” he said.