Q-1
I Why
donate blood?
Q-2
Who needs blood?
Q-3
When is blood needed?
Q-4
Who can donate blood?
Q-5
Who should not donate
blood?
Q-6
How much blood is taken at
the time of donation? How soon does the body make good this loss?
Q-7
How long does the process
of donation take?
Q-8
How often can one donate
blood?
Q-9
Are there any hazards in
blood donation? What are the precautions that need to be taken?
Q-10
What happens to the blood
that is donated?
Q-11
How is Blood Grouped?
Q-1 Why
donate blood?
A-1
There is tremendous demand for blood in
hospitals. Many patients die because they are not able to cope with the
loss of blood. Blood donation hardly makes a difference in terms of
health to the donor, but it can help save the life of a patient.
Blood is the living fluid that all life is based on. Blood is composed of 60% liquid part and 40% solid part. The liquid part called Plasma, made up of 90% water and 10% nutrients, hormones, etc. is easily replenished by food, medicines, etc. But the solid part that contains RBC (red blood cells), WBC (white blood cells) and Platelets take valuable time to be replaced if lost.
This is where you come in. The time taken by a patient's body to replace it could cost his/her life. Sometimes the body might not be in a condition to replace it at all.
As you know blood cannot be harvested it can only be donated. This means only you can save a life that needs blood.
Every year India requires 40 million units of 250cc blood out of which only a meager 500,000 of blood units are available.
Saving a life does not require heroic deeds. You could just do it with a small thought and an even smaller effort for saying "yes".
Q-2
Who needs blood?
A-2
Every 2 seconds someone needs blood. Your
blood helps more than one life at a time. Accidents, premature babies,
major surgeries require Whole blood, where your blood after testing is
used directly. Trauma, Anemia, other surgeries requires only RBC, which
is separated from your blood. The procedure of splitting blood
components is called Cytapheresis. Similarly Platelets are used for
Cancer patients undergoing Chemotherapy, Dengue fever, etc. Fresh frozen
plasma is used for patients having massive Transfusions, Plasma is used
for Burns and Cryoprecipitate is used for Hemophilia.
1. Replace blood lost during injury as in accidents.
2. Replace blood loss during major surgeries
3. Help patients with blood disorders like haemophilia, Von Willebrand’s
disease survive.
4. Help burns patients receive plasma, that may be critical for their
survival.
5. Raise haemoglobin levels ( through transfusions) in patients with
chronic ailments like kidney diseases, cancer and anaemia.
Q-3
When is blood needed?
A-3
Blood is needed at regular intervals and
at all times as it has only a finite time to store. Red blood cells can
be stored for about 42 days, Fresh Frozen Plasma and Cryoprecipitate for
a year and platelets for 5 days.
Q-4
Who can donate blood?
A-4
A donor should :
Be above 18 years and below 60 years of age.
Have a haemoglobin count that is not less than 12.5 g/dl
Weigh not less than 45 kgs
Have normal body temperature at the time of donation
Have normal BP at the time of donation
Should be free of any disease at the time of donation
Q-5
Who should not donate blood?
A-5
The following categories of people should
avoid giving blood:
1. Pregnant or lactating women, or those who have recently had an
abortion.
2. Persons who are on steroids, hormonal supplements or certain
specified medication
3. Persons with multiple sexual partners or those who are addicted to
drugs
4. Persons who have had an attack of infection like jaundice, rubella,
typhoid or malaria.
5. Persons who have undergone surgery in the previous six months.
6. Persons who have consumed alcohol in the 24 hours prior to donation
7. Women should avoid donation during their menstruating period.
8. Those who have undergone various vaccinations should avoid donation
for the corresponding period specified below:
Type of Vaccine The period in which donation should be avoided.
Hepatitis B for 6 months
Live vaccines for 2 weeks
Killed vaccines for 48 Hours
Rabies for 1 year
9. Persons with any systemic disease like heart disease, kidney disease,
liver problems, blood disorders or asthma should NOT donate blood.
10. Persons suffering from infections transmitted through transfusions
like HIV, Hepatitis, Syphilis etc should Not donate blood.
Q-6
How much blood is taken at the time of
donation? How soon does the body make good this loss?
A-6
Only 350 ml of blood is taken at the time
of donation. An average person has 5-6 litres of blood in the body. In
terms of volume the loss is corrected in 24-48 hours by the body. The
red cell count is corrected in about 56 days.
Q-7
How long does the process of donation
take?
A-7
The actual bleeding time is about 5-6
minutes. There will be a medical check up before this and you will be
advised some rest ( for 5-10 minutes) and given some refreshment after
donation. The whole process takes about 30 minutes.
Q-8
How often can one donate blood?
A-8
The minimum time advised between two
donations is 3 months. This gap helps blood regain the normal
haemoglobin count.
Q-9
Are there any hazards in blood donation?
What are the precautions that need to be taken?
A-9
Your health will not suffer because of the
blood you have donated. In fact, the bone marrow is stimulated to
produce new cells. However if conditions are not hygienic, you may be
exposed to infection. Precaution: Be sure that disposable needles are
used for bleeding.
Top
Q-10
What happens to the blood that is donated?
A-10
The blood is screened for the following
diseases/infections:
HIV
Hepatitis B & C
Syphilis
Malaria
The blood is grouped and stored either as whole blood or as components
like Packed red blood cells, plasma or platelets. This is then sent on
demand to hospitals.
Top
Q-11
How is Blood Grouped?
A-11
Blood is composed of cells suspended in a
liquid. The liquid portion is the plasma, from which therapeutic
fractions and derivatives are made.
Suspended in the plasma are three types of cells:
Red cells: These carry Oxygen
White cells: These fight infection
Platelets: These stop wounds bleeding
The most common type of grouping is the ABO grouping. Red Blood Cells
have a protein coat on their surface which distinguishes them. According
to this blood is divided into four groups:
A (A protein is present), B (B protein is present), AB (AB protein is
present) and O ( No protein is present).
There are subtypes under this grouping ( listed as A1, A2, A1B or A2B…)
some of which are quite rare.
Apart from this there is another protein which plays an important part
in the grouping of blood. This is called the Rh factor. If this is
present, the particular blood type is called positive. If it is absent,
it is called negative. Thus we have the following broad categories:
A1
A1
A1B
A1B
A2
A2
A2B
A2B
B
B
O
O
- Positive
- Negative
- Positive
- Negative
- Positive
- Negative
- Positive
- Negative
- Positive
- Negative
- Positive