Blood Donation:
It is a medical, voluntary procedure during which the blood or one of its components is transfused from a sound, healthy person to a sick person, in need of the blood. Millions people are in need of such a procedure every year, and it is performed during surgery, accidents or some diseases that require transfusion of some of the blood components.
Types of Blood Donation:
- Whole blood: is the most common type of the blood donation procedures, and includes all blood components (red cells, plasma and platelets).
- Platelets.
- Plasma
- Red blood cells
Importance of blood donation:
Blood transfusion is one of the procedures helping to save lives, and it is conducted to the following cases:
- Pregnancy-related complications such as bleeding cases before, during or after delivery
- For patients during surgical operations such as cardiovascular operations and organ transplant surgery, among others
- Victims of accidents
- Cancer patients
- Patients with blood diseases
Blood Donation Eligibility Requirements:
- The donor must be in a good health, and donot suffer from any infectious diseases.
- The donor's age must range from 18 to 65 years.
- The donor's weight must be no less than 50kg.
- The Hemoglobin level must be 14-17 grams for males, and 12-14 grams for women.
- The pulsemust range from 50 to100 a minute.
- Temperature must be no more than 37 degrees.
- The blood pressure level must be less than 120/80 mmHg.
Amount of Blood Donated:
An adult with good health can donate about (400-500mm) of their blood without any fear or risks to their health. Similarly, they can donate their blood every two months providing that the number of donation times does not exceed five ones yearly.
Blood Donation Benefits:
- Blood donation helps increasing the activity of the bone marrow instrumental in producing new blood cells (red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets).
- Blood donation is instrumental in boosting the activity of the blood circulation.
- Donating blood helps reduce the level of iron in the blood as it is considered one of the causes of developing cardiac diseases and thrombosis.
- Studies haveshown that those donating their blood at least once a year are less vulnerable to develop the blood circulation diseases and blood cancer.
People banned from donating blood:
- Those below 18 years
- Those with infectious diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis B & C, syphilis, and malaria)
- Those with genetic blood diseases
- Those with severe anemia
- Those with diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer
Post-blood Donating Tips:
- After donation, relax for some time and have a light meal, and after 10-15 minutes, you can leave the donation center.
- Avoidhard physical activities or carrying heavy stuff for five hours after donation.
- Feeling "dizzy", lie on your back, with your legs up.
- Drink a lot of fluids.
Steps taken to ensure the safety of the blood transfused to the patient:
- Passing the medical examination after answering questions related to the medical history of the donor, as well as meeting the general eligibility requirements for blood donation.
- Conducting accurate examination and testing to each blood unit with the aim of identifying the blood group and make sure of its being free of any infectious diseases such as (AIDS, Hepatitis B & C, Syphilis and Malaria).
- Performing cross-matching testing tothe blood units transfused and the patient's blood to ensure the blood safety and effectiveness.
- Using filters for the white blood cells.