478 blood donations over 30 years
> He donates blood regularly to save lives and to foster national unity
PETALING JAYA: Hew Hock Peng, 49, is an exemplary role model to fellow Malaysians as his noble deeds save lives, irrespective of race, culture or religion.
The MyHero Award 2.0 winner is not an army man but he has “shed” more blood than many others in order to save the lives of his fellow countrymen.
For the past 30 years, Hew has donated his blood a total of 478 times including in apheresis donations.
“Donating blood gives me a sense of satisfaction. I really enjoy doing what I do and will continue doing so as long as my health permits,” he said.
For Hew, donating blood is his way of helping the nation and its citizens promote national unity as each drop of blood is used to save the lives of Malaysians regardless of race and religion. His “addiction” to blood donation started at the age of 19 when his blood was needed to save the life of an injured stranger who needed a blood transfusion.
“I never thought that the incident would be the start for me continuously donating blood,” said Hew, who believes that he is destined to save peoples’ lives through blood donations due to his “O” blood type which is compatible with many other blood types.
He began volunteering for apheresis donations since 1998 – a blood donation which extracts one particular element such as platelets and returns the remainder to the donor.
“Apheresis donation is important to patients suffering from bone marrow disease or septicaemia disease,” he said.
Being a frequent donor, Hew eats natural foods such as whole grains and follows the food pyramid in order to keep himself healthy.
Hew’s blood donation enthusiasm also influenced his wife Wang Mei Fern, to become a regular donor while his two children, now aged 14 and 15, are waiting to turn 18 years old to start donating blood.
Hew is also a registered organ donor and hopes Malaysians will register to donate blood and organs as by doing so, they will save lives.
The MyHero Award 2.0, which is jointly organised by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor and Nanyang Siang Pau, is supported by the National Unity and Integration Department, The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia with corporate partner Sunsuria Bhd and sponsor Bank of China.