Blood test shows results of indulging in ‘favourite sins’

A vial of congealed blood from a donor who ate pastizzi moments before giving blood raised eyebrows at a blood drive yesterday. Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia was joined by his predecessor Joe Cassar who described the blubbery sample as a shocking reminder of the consequences of indulging in one of his “favourite sins”. Dr Farrugia was also joined by European Health Commissioner Tonio Borg and Eurovision hopeful Gianluca Bezzina at the blood donation drive in Pietà, organised by Xarabank in collaboration with TVM. Dr Bezzina, who will be representing Malta in Sweden at the Eurovision’s second semi-final on May 16, said he had been using the popularity of his competition entry Tomorrow as a platform for promoting blood donation programmes and hospital hand hygiene. The Health Minister was yesterday encouraged to donate blood for the first time since his obligatory medical student donations some 30 years ago. Dr Farrugia said he simply had not found the time to spare away from his patients. In a series of press photo opportunities the minister was tended to by the young Dr Bezzina, who joked that the minister’s high blood pressure result was probably down to the hoards of...