“Donating blood felt like a natural step for me.” These were the words shared by long-time blood donor, Catherine Zee Poh Chan. Across her life, she has contributed 136 blood donations, a feat that earned her the Titanium Award. 

What led to these donations was CSR. Now, the term ‘CSR’ may be one that is familiar to us as ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’. But to Catherine, it means something a little bit different. 

‘Catherine Social Responsibility’, is not just an act that applies to her activities in her professional career, but rather, an intrinsic part of her life. An ideal that was passed down to her from teachings by her family members, Catherine included blood donation as part of her journey to do good. Not just for herself, but for the people that needed help too. 

Starting Right At Home

It was only natural that Catherine felt no hesitation in donating blood. After all, it was an act that was commonplace in her family. Described as “effortless, painless, and simple”, it was one of the best ways for Catherine to also live up to her ‘CSR’ catchphrase and carry out one of her most important moral values: to do good, and give without expecting anything in return. 

It wasn’t just the passing down of values that helped Catherine realise the importance of blood security, however. When one of her relatives was hospitalised and required surgery, it helped to further reinforce her beliefs. 

“At that time, the impression I had gotten was that my relative was going to require a large volume of blood for her surgery. It showed me how important it was for us to have blood security.”

Not A Goal, But A Way Of Life 

To Catherine, donating blood served as not just a way to help others, but to keep herself healthy as well. 

“Simply put, I need to be healthy before the blood bank would consider me as a donor for my own sake as well as for those who receive my blood — an effective way to maintain a healthy lifestyle.” 

Even after 50 years of donating blood, she continues to find meaning in being a blood donor — and she doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. 

While receiving the Titanium Award serves as meaningful recognition for her efforts, for Catherine, it is also just a notch in her lifelong journey in practising CSR.