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Archive for the ‘Blood Donation’ Category

Interesting Article on the advantages of Blood Donation and even more reasons why it it is good to donate your blood.The good cause that it is, is now not  just the only reason to donate blood. It seems even the donor gets massive benefit out of blood donation. Please check out the article below for the details.

The Incredible Health Benefits of Donating Blood | HealthMad:

Studies have shown that, in general, Americans tend to consume more iron on a daily basis than is necessary for good health. Ingestion of quantities of iron beyond a certain quantity can promote formation of free radicals in the body. Free radicals have justly earned their reputation for causing cellular changes which can disrupt normal cell function and increase the risk of certain chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer .

This is more likely to be a problem for men and post menopausal women since women of child bearing age shed excess iron through regular menstrual cycles. If a person happens to be a red meat eater, the risk for iron overload can be even higher.

 How does blood donation help with iron overload? Blood donation removes some of the excess iron which can cause free radical formation in the body. In fact, studies have shown that men who donate blood on a regular basis have a lower risk of heart disease. With heart disease being the number one cause of death in males, this is, indeed, an important health benefit of donating blood.

How can you be sure you’re not giving away too much iron? Before you’re allowed to donate blood, your hemoglobin level, a rough measure of your iron levels, will be checked. If it’s deemed too low, you won’t be allowed to donate that day. Your hemoglobin level will be monitored closely every time you present for donation and you’ll only be allowed to donate every eight weeks to prevent too much iron from being removed from your body.

It’s a free and easy way to keep track of your iron levels.

Well for the ones who would like to know what happens behind the scene, here is teh scoop.

Blood donation is aimed at different things at different times and locations. Sometimes hospitals need only the whole blood. and sometimes there is a big need to collect red blood cells or only plasma. So depending on the need of the hour, the organization involved takes the donated blood thought various processes. Here is a video which shows you what happens after you donate your blood.

Red blood and Plasma are two of the important components of whole blood and they are vital in stabilizing a patients’ conditions in many trauma related and cancer related cases. I strongly urge you to donate blood and be proud of it and take friend while you go..

Donating blood is like paying forward, you never know when you will need it so start building good karma today!

I hear ads asking for more blood donors every day but they are making it more & more difficult to donate blood. I used to donate but now they don’t want it ‘cos I’ve visited Thailand.
Im sure I could get tested for malaria or my blood could, BUT… if I was in danger of dying from lack of blood Id sure as hell take anyone’s blood! Maybe I would die later but not now!

They’re just trying to protect people. I had an uncle who had knee surgery in the late 80′s and he got hepatitus C from his transfusion. Its not something to take lightly, and not everyone shares your opinion on preffering to die later. I, for one, would prefer to die quietly and painlessly on an operating table tomorrow than to die a horrible, painful death from HIV, Malaria, or Hepatitus in ten years.

I’m sure they could do tests, but then again, there may be pathogens that they can’t detect that you might have come into contact with in Thailand.

I wish I could donate, but I’m anemic, and my doc won’t let me… The shortage should get better soon though.

I studied in Europe for four years in the 80′s recently I decided to be a good citizen and donate blood (yesterday).

I was told that anyone who spent 4 years in certain countries in the 80′s is not allowed to be a blood donor.

I wonder who the Europeans get their blood from?

It depends on where you lived and the cumulative time you were there. To simply quote the American Red Cross

Any person who lived in certain parts of the world during certain times are unable to donate due to the risk of the human variant of Mad Cow Disease. The human variant is called variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (vCJD) which is also a fatal brain disease. Scientists believe that vCJD is Mad Cow Disease that has somehow transferred to humans, possibly through the food chain.

There is now evidence from a small number of case reports involving patients and laboratory animal studies that vCJD can be transmitted through transfusion. There is no test for vCJD in humans that could be used to screen blood donors and to protect the blood supply. This means that blood programs must take special precautions to keep vCJD out of the blood supply by avoiding collections from those who have been where this disease is found.

At this time, the American Red Cross donor eligibility rules related to vCJD are as follows:

You are not eligible to donate if:

From January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1996, you spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more, in the United Kingdom (UK), or
From January 1, 1980, to present, you had a blood transfusion in any country(ies) in the (UK). The UK includes any of the countries listed below.

Channel Islands
England
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
Isle of Man
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
You were a member of the of the U.S. military, a civilian military employee, or a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who spent a total time of 6 months on or associated with a military base in any of the following areas during the specified time frames

From 1980 through 1990 – Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland), or Germany
From 1980 through 1996 – Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Italy or Greece.
You spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 5 years or more from January 1, 1980, to present, in any combination of country(ies) in Europe, including

in the UK from 1980 through 1996 as listed in above
on or associated with military bases as described above, and
in other countries in Europe as listed below:
Albania
Austria
Belgium
Bosnia/Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland (Republic of)
Italy
Kosovo (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Montenegro (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Netherlands (Holland)
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Serbia (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Yugoslavia (Federal Republic includes Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia)

With exeptions i mean if a family member need a blood transfusion are allowed to donate blood?

It’s because people with tattoos are at risk for hepatitis from dirty needles used in the tattooing process, so the Red Cross doesn’t take them. And I don’t think there are exceptions… but you can always ask.