For a long time, I wanted to write about blood donation and why it is very important for the donor and for the community. There hasn’t been a lot of research activity on how donating blood helps the donor but it is a well understood fact that the act saves lives. So what is this all about? Who can donate blood and what care needs to be taken before and after donating blood? Keep reading to save more lives…
Donating Blood:
Blood donation is about helping the people who are in very bad need of a renewed life. It is about giving people an opportunity to get back to their normal life. There can be nothing noble when compared to giving someone a life to live. I used to donate blood in the past to a blood bank and I learnt that the blood will be disposed after 90 days if that is not used. After knowing this I stopped donating blood to blood banks and would only donate if approached from hospitals asking for my particular blood group. I now realise how wrong I was.
Blood nowadays is not used in its original form. Instead it is divided into smaller components like Red Blood corpuscles, Blood platelets and plasma and they are used for treatment of various diseases. We all should remember that all hospitals take only what is medically accepted as allowed quantity to donate.So what we generally donate would just be the extra blood our body can really afford to loose. The donated blood regenerates in 8 weeks time so there is really nothing to worry about it.
Benefits of Blood Donation:
An unfortunate event can turn the donor to an acceptor and hence it is required for all of us to realise the importance of donating blood. The most important benefit to the blood donor is the feel good factor. The deep satisfaction of helping the community and saving some one’s life is something that is indescribable. Apart from these, there are a few health benefits as well that arise because of donating blood.
A study in the US showed that people who donate blood regularly have lesser risk of getting heart problems and cancer. The theory behind this is people who have very high iron content in their bloods are vulnerable to the formation of free radicals. These free radicals are the key for heart diseases and cancer. By donating blood regularly, the excess iron is taken out and that helps in reducing the formation of free radicals. Before donating blood, a GP would check the hemoglobin levels in the blood and would advise not to donate if the iron content is too low. So do not worry about loosing too much iron.
Preparation before donating blood:
There are a few precautions that need to be followed before donating blood. These are very simple steps that would ease the whole process.
Drink Lots of water. It helps in not getting dehydrated.
Eat Iron rich foods to maintain healthy hemoglobin levels. Have orange juice or other Vitamin C supplement. Vitamin C helps absorb iron faster. Maintaining the right iron levels is required for oxygen transport and cell respiration. So to be healthy you need the right amount of iron in the blood.
- Avoid foods that have too high fat content for a few days before donating.
- Have proper breakfast / meal with relatively high sugar content before donating blood.
- Relax and do not be nervous.
After donating blood:
- Feel happy to have made an effort to save some one’s life.
- Drink fruit juices or eat fruits. Have glucose supplement if available.
- Do not workout or do extensive exercise after donating.
Some may feel very tired or even faint. Resting for a while (30 minutes or so) will make the body get back on track.
Donating blood is a very simple process and with the improvement of
technology, we have completely safe and very very less painful needles
and apparatus to collect blood. There is nothing to worry or be tensed
about donating blood. If everyone of us can donate blood once in a year
at least, then there will be enough blood in this world to save the
needy.