As we all know, blood is our life-maintaining fluid, which is circulating throughout our body. It is this blood that transports nourishments and several other elements to the internal organs. Not only this, it is our blood that takes away from us the waste matter, as well as carbon dioxide. This vital entity of our body is making up nearly seven percent of our total body weight. Each and every year, our nation needs about four crore units of this vital blood. But, you know what? Only a meager amount of forty lakh units are found to be available.
So, what’s the main reason for this deficiency? Remember, every two seconds, someone somewhere needs blood. This warrants over 38,000 blood donations in a day. To understand it better, we would like to inform you that a single car accident victim would require as many as hundred units. Now, consider the number of accidents happening in our country in a day. More importantly, blood is not a thing that can be manufactured. It has to come from generous blood donors only.
So, what stops us from donating blood? You know pretty well that donating blood is safe and quick. But, people don’t come out easily for this donation. This is mainly because of the fear of needles and fear of becoming weak. Some of us are even thinking that what other people donate is more than sufficient to meet the needs. I would say all these misconceptions are mainly due to the lack of understanding. Read the complete article here to know about this…
Facts about Blood Donation:
So, how much would you lose during a single blood donation? Well, being an adult, you will usually have eight to twelve pints of blood in your body. During the donation process, you will be giving one pint that is one unit. You need to understand that your body is capable of replenishing the whole amount that you have lost during the donation.
Next is the question of safety. It’s to be noted most of the donors are not experiencing any side effects because of the blood donation. In a recent survey, which involved 5000 donors, it was observed that only one percent experienced some minor reactions. Those reactions included minor irritation on the skin that too because of improper needle insertion. Moreover, every donor will be checked before starting off the donation process. As such, the donor will be checked for the temperature, blood pressure, pulse, as well as hemoglobin in order to make sure it is safe for the particular donor to donate blood. Therefore, as a donor, you don’t have to worry about your safety and health in the process of saving another life.
Yes, it’s usual that a very few people would feel weak immediately after the donation. But, this would typically pass after some time, usually few minutes. However, this weakness can also be prevented by arriving at the donation center with a full stomach.
So, how long does the donation process take? The whole donation process would take only ten to twelve minutes. Yes, it’s as quick as this! You know what? You can repeat this donation every eight weeks. And as the title suggests, your single donation can save the lives of up to three individuals. So, if you start the donation process by the age of eighteen (minimum age to donate) and donated every ninety days till the age of sixty, then you would have contributed as high as thirty gallons of blood to the nation. Thus, you would have saved over five hundred human lives. How amazing is the fact, isn’t it?
Other Lesser Known Facts about Blood Donation:
Only seven percent people in our country are found to be having the special blood type “O-negative”. Remember, the O-negative blood carriers are universal donors and their blood can be provided to people of any type. This is because of this reason that this blood type is required in the emergencies before knowing the blood type of patients and newborns those who need blood urgently. On the other hand, there are only 0.4% people in our country with AB type of blood. They are the universal donors of plasma. This again is usually used in emergencies for patients, as well as newborns.
Whose Lives can you save?
So, you might be wondering how a single donation can save three lives, aren’t you? Well, your one unit of blood will be separated into three of its primary components, namely, red blood cells, plasma, and blood platelets. Thus, your blood can save the life of the following patients in need:
Accident Victims:
As mentioned earlier, the accident victims would need ten units and sometimes, up to fifty units of blood. And every year, it has been found that nearly half of the accident victims are found to be carrying serious injuries that need to be treated. And every year, these numbers are dramatically increasing. Therefore, your blood that was donated will help save up to three of them.
Organ Transplant Recipients:
Those people who are receiving organ transplants would require varying levels of blood. Out of all, the liver transplant recipient would require the highest (up to fifty units).
Trauma Patients:
Remember, bleeding after an accident or injury is found to be the cause of over two million deaths every year across the globe. If the patients are given timely attention to the loss of blood, their lives can be saved. In general, the trauma patients would need up to fifty units of red blood cells alone and some additional units of plasma and platelets.
Bone Marrow Transplant Recipients:
These days, bone marrow transplants are being carried out to cure a number of diseases. It has been found that a bone marrow transplant can cure even your immune deficiency disorders and cancers. Such vital transplant procedures would need up to twenty units of red blood cells and twenty-five units of platelets.
As you see, it would take fifty different people to provide sufficient quantity of blood to save one life in the cases of major accidents and trauma. Therefore, come forward and be a generous blood donor to save our fellow people!