Blood Donation Importance,Donate Blood & Save Life,be a Hero

 Blood Donation Importance

Have This in your Mind Before Blood Donation

• Have a good meal at least 3 hours before donating blood.
• Accept the snacks offered to you after the donation, it is vital that you have them. You are recommended to have a good meal later.
• Avoid smoking on the day before donating. You can smoke 3 hours after donation.
• You will not be eligible to donate blood if you have consumed alcohol 48 hours before donation.

 Reasons To donate Blood

Blood facts

• Blood is the life-maintaining fluid that circulates through the body's heart, arteries, veins and capillaries.
• Blood carries to the body nourishment, electrolytes, hormones, vitamins, antibodies, heat, and oxygen.
• Blood carries away from the body waste matter and carbon dioxide.
• Blood fights against infection and helps heal wounds, keeping you healthy.
• Blood makes up about 7% of your body's weight.
• A newborn baby has about one cup of blood in his or her body.
• White blood cells are the body's primary defence against infection.
• Granulocytes, a type of white blood cell, roll along blood vessel walls to search and destroy bacteria.
• Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body's organs and tissues.
• There are about one billion red blood cells in two to three drops of blood.
• Red blood cells live about 120 days in the circulatory system.
• Blood platelets help clotting and give those with leukemia and other cancers a chance to live.

•  Every year our nation requires about 4 Crore units of blood, out of which only a meager 40 Lakh units of blood are available.

• The gift of blood is the gift of life. There is no substitute for human blood.
• Every two seconds someone needs blood.
• More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day.
• A total of 30 million blood components are transfused each year.
• The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 pints.
• The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O.
• Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives.
• More than 1 million new people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
• A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood

Blood Groups

 The membranes of red blood cells contain proteins called antigens.  More than 300 red-cell antigens have been identified.  Based on the presence or absence of particular antigens, scientists have classified human blood into various groups.  A, B & O

The Rh Blood Types

Rh blood types form the second major blood-group system.  People who have Rh antigens on their red blood cells are Rh positive.  The antigen itself is called the Rh factor.  People who lack the factor are Rh negative.  Most people are Rh positive. 

Blood Transfusion

Blood transfusion is the transfer of whole blood or blood components into a person's bloodstream.  People who lose large amounts of blood in accidents, during surgery or due to some illnesses often need blood transfusions.  Blood Transfusion is a safe and effective medical procedure that saves many lives. 

" After donating blood the donor (if properly selected) does not feel any weakness and the donated amount of blood is replaced with in 24 hours to one week. Blood donation can be repeated safely after 2 to 3 months. Most people need only some parts of blood in a transfusion.  For example, in a disease called hemophilia, blood does not clot normally.  A person with hemophilia can receive a transfusion of clotting factors, the plasma proteins that cause blood to clot.  Another person can receive a transfusion of red blood cells from the same unit of blood".  Maximum Storage Period For Blood Cells    Red blood cells can be stored for about 42 days, fresh frozen plasma and cryoprecipitate for 365 days and blood platelets for 5 days.   Who can Donate Blood...?  Anyone above 18 years weighing more than 50 kgs (110 lbs) can donate blood. you are between age group of 18-60 years. your weight is 45 kgs or more. your haemoglobin is 12.5 gm% minimum. your last blood donation was 3 months earlier. you are healthy and have not suffered from malaria, typhoid or other transmissible disease in the recent past.    Who Can't Donate Blood...? cold / fever in the past 1 week. under treatment with antibiotics or any other medication. cardiac problems, hypertension, epilepsy, diabetes (on insulin therapy), history of cancer,chronic kidney or liver disease, bleeding tendencies, venereal disease etc. major surgery in the last 6 months. vaccination in the last 24 hours. had a miscarriage in the last 6 months or have been pregnant / lactating in the last one year. had fainting attacks during last donation. have regularly received treatment with blood products. shared a needle to inject drugs/ have history of drug addiction. had sexual relations with different partners or with a high risk individual. been tested positive for antibodies to HIV.   Females should not donate blood during pregnancy.They can donate after 6 weeks following a normal delivery and when they are not breast feeding. Females should not donate blood if they are having heavy menstrual flow or menstrual cramps.    Health benefits of donating blood  Reduce the chance of heart diseases  It has been observed that increase in blood iron level increases the chance of heart disease. Iron is involved in the oxidation of cholesterol and this process is believed to be detrimental for the arteries. Increases blood iron level favors this process of cholesterol oxidation and thus leads to heart disease. Regular blood donation helps especially males in loosing iron on regular basis. It helps in reducing the chance of heart attack to one third.  Helps in fighting hemochromitosis Hemochromitosis is a genetic disorder; also know as iron overload disorder wherein iron accumulates in the body tissue because or improper iron metabolism. This condition may lead to organ damage.Though this problem is uncommon in Indians, people with little iron overload also can easily donation blood and reduce their iron content. Taking example from other countries, one in every 300-400 people in England suffers from this disorder and American Red Cross blood services accept such donors as safe donor as it’s a genetic disorder, it won’t be harmful to the person receiving blood from such donors  blood test   Apart from all these benefits a donor gets a mini blood test done before donating blood. This includes Hematocrit ( HB level test), Blood pressure is measured, body weight is checked. After the blood is collected it tested for 5 major diseases. Those are Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, Syphilis and malaria. Donor is immediately informed if any of these test found to be positive.  Conclusion:  Blood ,it runs in our veins and plays a vital role in the body mechanism. But have you ever spared a thought for those who are fighting with some disease and need blood urgently. Act now and donate your blood without any worry. It won't cost you a thing but could bring back the smile on someone's face.  Have a Heart,Donate Blood & Save a Life,you will become a Hero for Saving a Life I actually shown the importantance of Blood Donation,I gathered it from various source,I actually create this to create Awareness About Blood Donation...!.I am happy to Say that I am also a Blood Donor,I am O+ve...!.have a Heart,save Life,donate blood

-Raghavendran