Blood Donations

Blood Donation

Blood donation is considered a noble act where a person donates his blood voluntarily for the purpose of transfusing the blood to another person, often to help the other person for medical reasons. A person, called a donor, donates blood either for charity or to earn money in return, the later is known as professional blood donor. A patient may need blood from others while undergoing surgery or during certain medical treatments. People suffering from thalassemia, haeomophilia or blood cancer are in need of blood on regular basis. Each one of us expects to get blood when in need and depends on blood donors for saving the life.

The importance of blood donation:

There are some rare occasions in life when we have the opportunity to create a difference in someone else’s life. Donating blood is one such occasion. Regardless of age a blood donor is entitled to receive several benefits by making that precious contribution. A blood donor be helpful in the following ways:

• To create awareness around you, as well as to bring in a sense of commitment within your community

• To ensure that the supply of blood touches the brim in order to guarantee an adequate amount for yourself and loved ones when in need.

• Every time you donate blood you are entitled to go through certain tests such as blood pressure, temperature, hemoglobin, and pulse rate. This can be good reason for you to go for a complete check up

• Be a member of the volunteer group that stands up to save others’ lives

Types of Blood Donors

Volunteer Blood Donors

Persons who donate blood voluntarily are called Voluntary Blood Donors. They donate their bloods in blood donation camps and other charitable institutions. A huge percentage of fresh and quality blood is derived from voluntary blood donors. As the individuals falling under this category are not regular in donating blood, the risk of receiving contaminated blood is lower in their case. Blood Banks all over the world are on a bid to increase the number of volunteer blood donors to ensure a steady flow of blood at times of extreme requirement.

Replacement Blood Donors

Replacement Donors usually donate blood when in need or as a replacement. Replacement donors are often the first option during emergencies when a patient is urgently in need of blood. This type of donors contributes to the blood banks at times of crisis faced by his friend or any relative acting as replacement contributor.

Professional Blood Donors

Professional Blood Donors fall under the category of donors who donate blood for money. Other than the monetary benefit, a professional donor may even contribute blood in exchange other types of returns. However, as revealed by statistics, their blood tends to be of a lower quality as they contribute blood on a frequent basis. Blood from professional donors also have the chance of carrying contaminations.

• Necessary Requirements For Donating Blood

Before one desires to donate blood he or she must satisfy certain necessary requirements.

1. The donor must possess good heath.

2. He/She must be at least of 17 years of age and not above 60

3. The minimum weight required is 45 kgs

4. The normal pulse rate on the other hand should be 80 to 100 beats/min and regular

5. The body temperature should be absolutely normal

6. The blood pressure (BP) rate of the donor should also be normal; an acceptable range is 160/90 to 110/60

7. He/She must not be suffering from any disease during the time of donation

Similarly there are certain categories of people who cannot donate blood.

1. If the person is tested to be HIV positive.

2. If he/she has been addicted to some kind of drugs or any kind of substance abuse.

3. Being a man if you are involved in sex with another man

4. The people who are suffering from certain diseases such as hemophilia, babesiosis or Chagas disease, Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, or who have had myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass, with multiple sclerosis, and who have gone through a heart attack.

5. People diagnosed with hepatitis at any time after their 11th birthday are even barred from donating blood. Moreover people carrying hepatitis B virus and the hepatitis C virus are strictly not suitable for blood donations

6. Individuals who are involved in sex with anyone suffering from serious disease

7. If the person is a prostitute

8. After some kind of surgery when a person is under certain medication

Besides, to avoid some heath hazards a person should not donate blood at some given conditions.

1. Prior to the passage of the 16 weeks period after the last contribution is made

2. Anybody suffering from chesty coughs, sore throat or active cold sore

3. If you are on a current antibiotics dosage

4. Any individual who had acupuncture in the last 6 months

5. On being engaged in some body-piercing act in the last 6 months

6. If you have recently received blood or have undergone blood transfer in the course of some kind of treatment

Other than the above restrictions a person might be debarred from donating blood at certain occasions.

1. If involved in any complicated dental work

2. On being under medication for a particular disease or if immunized in the last four weeks

3. Presently going through certain medical tests or is suffering from certain infectious disease

4. If the person does not weigh beyond 50kgs

5. A pregnant woman or a lactating mother

6. People who have already suffered from rubella, typhoid or malaria

7. A person who has had sex within few hours

8. An individual who has involved in the intake of alcohol within 24 hours of contributing blood

9. Women cannot contribute blood during their menstrual cycle.

10. Any individual undergoing any systematic disease such as like heart disease, kidney disease, liver problems, blood disorders or asthma.

11. On being sexually active in areas, which have a high count of HIV patients.

12. People who are troubled by certain types of infections passed on in course of transfusions like HIV, Hepatitis, and Syphilis etc.

Some General Concepts on Blood Donation

During the process of donation, generally 350 ml of blood is taken. The total blood count in a person’s body on an average amounts to 5-6 liters. After donating blood the small shortage is filled up within 24-48 hours. The donor has to undergo certain tests in order to qualify the standard requirements before donating blood. The bleeding time on the other hand is almost 5-6 minutes. Immediately after the completion of the process the donor is given some nutritional refreshments. He is even recommended to some rest for at least 5-6 minutes. The entire process consumes around 30 minutes. A donor is not allowed to go for another phase of donation before six months. This gap is usually kept to help in attain the normal hemoglobin count.

Precautions During Blood Donation

Certain precautions should to be taken during blood donation.

• Disposable needles should be used for bleeding

• Necessary precautions must be taken to avoid the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes AIDS

• The blood donated must be screened for certain diseases like HIV, Hepatitis B & C, Syphilis, and Malaria.

Types of Donations

Blood donation camps are organized at several places to collect blood from volunteers. These camps are organized at different points of time to reach out a helping to several blood donation centers and blood banks in their endeavor to collect blood and maintain adequate stocks.

The Whole Blood Donation Program

Whole blood donations have recorded to be the most usual method meant to save the lives of people in need of blood. A whole blood unit is composed of several components, which include red blood corpuscles, platelets, plasma and white blood corpuscles. A whole blood donor is required to fulfill the varied regular donor criteria.

In the United States the Florida blood donation centers are generally quite renowned of the numerous blood donation programmes carried out by them. All around the South Florida area several bloodmobiles move to certain regions like schools, businesses, religious organizations, and civic groups to collect blood from volunteer donors.

Autologous Donation Program

In this type of programme a person can donate blood for himself. Putting it more vividly, if a person is supposed to undergo some kind of surgery in near future he can donate blood and store it for himself. The blood is then given back to the same individual when in need. As you donate for yourself the risk of facing any kind of contagious disease or harmful reaction is abolished.

Directed Donation Program

A directed donor donates blood for a specific receiver. To be a directed donor one must satisfy all the regular donor criteria. As a directed donor a person must have some required information about the patient such as name of patient, his date of birth, anticipated blood usage date, the patient's physician, the hospital where he is undergoing treatment, and the patient's social security number.

Apheresis Donation Program

In an apheresis donation program the blood is dissected into some special components. Contrasting to any other program, in apheresis donation specific equipment is put into use to extract a special component in the blood such as platelets or plasma, while the other unnecessary elements are given back to the donor. The donated blood is stored inside sterile, disposable plastic software and is never exposed to any kinds of tubing. The apheresis donation program is further divided in to certain sections. They are:

1. Platelet Donations

2. Plasma Donations

Platelet Donations

This type of donation is crucial for patients suffering from leukemia or any type of cancer, patients having bone marrow and organ transplants or undergoing some kind of open heart surgery.

Plasma Donations

Plasma is the liquid portion in the blood, which is quite necessary in organ transplantation. In apheresis plasma blood donation a donor can contribute plasma three times more than it is done in any usual blood donation. People belonging to a rare blood group should donate blood plasma, as it is a rare opportunity to save ones life.

Another major type of blood donation is the cord blood donation. Immediately after the birth of the baby the cord is detached from the baby’s body. The blood in the cord is then collected and kept. The cord blood stem cells have the ability to fight certain diseases such as those of bone marrow, leukemia and other types of cancers.

The International Red Cross Association as well as the American Red Cross has been carrying on with their community services in the arena of blood donation over decades. Blood donation centers set by Red Cross have made huge contributions in several occasions of crisis such as earthquakes, storms, fire, flood etc. Along with their contributions the Red Cross blood donations camps have even done a satisfactory job in the field of spreading awareness asking human to spare a gift they all possess.