Taxi driver offers free rides to blood donors during MCO

CORONAVIRUS | For the past 11 years, it has become a routine for taxi driver Mohamad Azuan Abdullah, 40, to donate blood every three months and now with the enforcement of the movement control order (MCO), he is doing his part by providing free taxi service to blood donors living in the federal capital.

Although the MCO affected his income, Mohamad Azuan said he was doing his part to ensure the blood bank continues to receive supply from donors.

“With the MCO, there may be limitations for blood donors to go out and it will not be a problem for me, being a taxi driver, to offer my service to help them do something for a noble cause,” he told Bernama.

Since MCO was enforced, the father of three has given free rides to eight blood donors from their homes to the National Blood Centre (PDN) and then back home again.

“Some of them are my friends, but there are also those I don’t know and have not met who sent me their messages on my Facebook to fix the time,” he added.

Mohamad Azuan’s generosity received praises from netizens when PDN shared the free taxi service offered by him to blood donors on its official Facebook.

"I regularly post about blood donations on Facebook and from there I hope people will be aware of the need for them to donate blood,” he added.

Mohamad Azuan, who hails from Sungai Siput, in Perak, said he donated blood for the first time in 2009 at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.

“I was prompted to do so after reading a Facebook post about a child in need of type A blood.

“At first I thought it would be painful, but it wasn't. It gives me a feeling of satisfaction, and since then I have been donating my blood every three months," he added.

Meanwhile, PDN director Dr Noryati Abu Amin, when contacted, said she appreciated and thanked Mohamad Azuan for his efforts.

- Bernama