In this essay we are going to talk about the blood donation. Blood, an important carrier of our body. From gases to nutrients, it transports every needed thing in our body. There is no doubt that it is a very important component of our body.
Short Essay on blood donation
Daily, many lives struggle to survive due to excess loss of blood. However, thanks to the blood bank or blood donors a lot of them are saved.
You donating your blood might save someone’s life. It gives a sense of pride over thinking that a small red liquid extracted from your body can save someone’s life.
Why is blood donation so important?
It is important for donors to regularly donate, if their blood is safe enough. This is because blood can only be stored for a certain period of time. A person should be aware of how important their blood is. Even their components can be separated and used for needy patients.
The blood taken from these donors can be used for various purposes-
- They can be used during pregnancy where a woman can lose a lot of blood.
- It could be used by children who suffer from anaemia
- It could be used if a person is suffering from a condition like malaria
- It could be used during accidents where a person has lost a lot of blood.
Blood donation could also be a way to check your blood. How?
Well, before taking anyone’s blood, the doctors or nurses usually check if the blood is safe enough or not. Through this, you can even become aware if you have any problem or a condition that you might be unaware of.
Process of blood donation
Before donating your blood, there are a few processes that you have to go through. This is to make sure that your blood is safe and donating blood won’t affect your body. The process is always taken even if you are a regular donor and not a first-timer it doesn’t matter.
In the process, you will be asked about your medical history. They will make sure to ask if you are under any medication and how is your current lifestyle. This helps them in understanding if your health is good enough to donate blood.
They even ask about travelling schedules and see if you have travelled anywhere recently. This is to avoid any condition where your transfused blood may have a pathogen of that country.
When you answer these questions, always be honest. Revealing your health and lifestyle might lead you to talk about some personal details but you don’t have to worry about it as it is made sure to be kept confidential and not used anywhere else. However, lying about any condition can be problematic for you or even for the one in whom your blood might get transfused.
With question answering, they also make sure to check your blood by taking a drop of it from your fingertip. They check if there is an infection and make sure your blood is healthy and safe enough. Even your pulse, weight and blood pressure would be checked.
Once all the above procedures are done, you will be able to donate blood. This process hardly takes around 10 minutes. You will be firstly made comfortable in a chair or bed. Once you are comfortable, the area inside of either the right or left elbow will be taken and cleaned with an antiseptic solution. After this, the area is injected with the needle that connects to a pouch where your blood will be collected. After 10 minutes, they take the needle out.
Once this is done, you are made to rest for about 10 to 15 minutes. You are also provided with drinks that can help you in regaining some energy. Once this is done you can go back to continue your regular routines. However, do make sure to avoid activities that require a lot of physical strength and energy. Also, consume a lot of fluids for nearly a day after your donation.
Blood donation and safety
There is a misconception going around blood donation stating that it can be harmful. However, that is not the case. Before taking your blood, it is thoroughly examined keeping your safety in mind. They only take the blood once they confirm that you are fit and healthy enough. Apart from that, they also use sterile and new needles and pouches to collect blood. They never reuse it so there is no issue of any harm coming to you.
Amount of blood and the pain
About 5 litres of blood is present in a human body and nearly 10 per cent or even less of it is used. When you donate your blood, about 450 millilitres or less than that is taken. This is not harmful as your body can recover that amount of blood within a span of 1-2 days.
There is no need to worry about the pain either. If you are someone who can endure the pain of pinpricking then a needle is not a big deal.
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How long can one do blood donations?
Criteria for blood donations vary from country to country. There can be different rules however, one can be assured that the main thing required for a donation of blood is the donor being fit and healthy. Not just that, they also have to be free from any sort of infection.
Age is another criterion that may vary from country to country but it is usually set between late teens like 16 or after that and early or mid-60s.
Some healthy people can donate regularly. However, regularly here doesn’t mean in 2 or 3 days. It needs to be at least at an interval of 6 months. You can inquire about this at your nearby health care centre. They will provide you with the report stating that by what time you can do your next donation.
Who cannot donate blood?
There are many procedures done before the donation of blood. This procedure basically ensures that the donor is fit and healthy. It also makes sure that the blood is safe. Hence, there are many situations or conditions under which a person cannot donate blood. To understand it better, let’s divide the conditions and situations into two categories. One category gives reason from the donor’s well-being perspective and the other from the patient’s well-being perspective.
When we consider blood donation, the health care person who is examining and injecting you always makes sure that you won’t be facing any issue with your health after donation. Hence, those donors with certain conditions may not be considered for donation at least for some time. Some of those are-
- If the person is not well
- If they are pregnant
- If they are under breastfeeding
- If they recently had their pregnancy
- If you are under medications or drugs
- If you suffer from some health condition
Apart from these, it is also made sure that the blood that is being taken from the donor and transmitted to the patient won’t cause any issue to the patient and their life. Hence, if you have any of the following conditions you might not be eligible or might have to wait for some time to donate blood-
- If you are suffering from any Sexually transmitted disease
- If you have a tattoo
- If you have a piercing on any part of the body
- If you are sexually active with multiple partners
What do we gain from donating blood?
Everything is not about gaining. Sometimes a feeling of doing something good is enough to light up one’s life. When you donate blood, you do know that it might be used for someone who needs it. That realisation is itself enough to fill you up with pride in doing something good.
Even though most people do it out of their goodwill, there is something that you might gain from it too. As explained earlier you go through a procedure before donating your blood. The process is to know if you are fit for the donation, however, this could also be a means of your check-up. You can get a report of your health and see if you suffer from any infection or not.
Conclusion
Blood is a fluid that runs all day in our body providing us with the necessities that our body needs. Blood is an important part of our system but ever wondered what if a small amount of your body might save someone’s life?
A minute thing like donating blood can have a great impact on someone’s life. Every day many people suffer from blood loss and die. It could be an accident case or a pregnancy one, death by excess blood loss is quite common. Why is it so common? Because of the unavailability of enough blood in the blood banks. People still fear donating blood. They are not aware of the power it holds. They don’t realise that their small amount of blood might become someone’s life tonic. Hence, it is necessary to make people aware of how it works and encourage them to donate blood. After all, giving blood is equal to saving a life!!