Do You Know These Basic Dos and Don’ts of Blood Donation?

Here is the answer to all our material obsession – blood, the lifeline of human beings, can be acquired only through donation! There is no way blood can be manufactured which leaves a donation as the only means to get blood when needed.

While safe blood saves lives and improves health, it is critical for women with complications of pregnancy, such as ectopic pregnancies and hemorrhage before, during or after childbirth, children with severe anemia due to malaria or malnutrition, people with severe trauma following man-made and natural disasters, cancer patients and for many complex medical and surgical procedures.

People who are battling Thalassemia and sickle cell disease also need transfusions. Additionally, making products such as clotting factors for people with Hemophilia also needs blood.

Keep These 10 Things in Mind Before Donating Blood

Blood Donation Crucial to Meet the Requirements of Rare Groups

There is a constant need for regular blood supply because it can be stored for only a limited time before used. Regular blood donations by a sufficient number of healthy people are needed to ensure that safe blood will be available whenever and wherever it is needed – a mere 1 unit of blood can save up to 3 lives. But the plight of people with rare blood group is palpable. A rare blood group is found in 1 in 1,000 people, but blood groups such as Bombay “Oh” is rarer, and is found in 1 in 7,600 people in Mumbai and 1 in 2,500 in south-west Maharashtra.

In other parts of the country, people with this group of blood do not exist. Overall, finding a match for rare blood types donor, including rh-blood types, is difficult. While it may feasible to seek information on which is the rarest blood group for a developed country, screening and categorising the vast population of India is easier said than done. While it will take considerable time before we know what India needs, we can always keep ourselves as informed as possible.

(Dr Vinay Bhat is part of Internal Medicine at Columbia Asia Hospital in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.)