World Blood Donor Day: Tiny Drops of Blood Make An Ocean-Donate Blood & Save A Life

Gift Life, Donate Blood!

World blood donor day is celebrated every year on June 14th to commemorate the birthday anniversary of Karl Landsteiner, the scientist who won the Nobel prize for his great discovery of the ABO blood group system. Practised since 2004, this day serves to fulfill needs of blood transfusion and blood products transfusion to the needy worldwide. Millions of people across the globe benefit from this campaign which serves to spread happiness and health through its contribution to thousands of complex medical procedures and surgeries. Pregnant women during their pre- and post-pregnancy complications are saved and cared safely during emergency response to any disaster with the help of donated blood.
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2018 Campaign Goal
The host country for this year is Greece and the theme is ‘Blood connects us all.’ Blood donation is an act of selflessness, harmony, empathy and respect, all of which are needed for the smooth functioning of unpaid blood donation camps. The slogan adopted by WHO for this year’s campaign ‘Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life” says it all-to be kind to one and all, generate social ties and live together in harmony as a community. Campaigns arranged serve as a motivating factor to various people-those who are already giving blood to continue doing so by telecasting life-saving stories of people who have received blood through campaigns and also serve as a driving factor to people in good health to come forward and donate blood. Meetings, scientific events, publication of relevant stories and other activities that promote the theme of blood donation are arranged each year. 

Make Yourself Eligible to Donate Blood

Who Can Donate?
While most people can donate, there are certain clauses that must be adhered to before you make yourself eligible for donation. Guidelines for blood donation include:

1. Any healthy and fit person without any transmittable diseases can donate blood
2. Aged between 18 and 60 years of age and having a minimum weight of 50kgs
3. The time period between two blood donations must be at least 3 months
4. Pulse rate must be between 50 to 100mm and BP levels must be as follows: diastolic rate between 50 and 100 mm Hg; systolic rate between 100 and 180 mm Hg.
5. Hemoglobin level must be at least 12.5%

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People with the following criteria must refrain from donating blood:

1. HIV+
2. Alcohol consumption within the last 24 hours
3. Treated for malaria within the last three months
4. Immunization procedure followed within the last one month
5. Women who had a miscarriage must refrain from blood donation for the next 6 months

Pre- & Post-Donation Guidelines
Before donating:

• Have sufficient quantities of fruit juice/water in the night and morning before you donate blood
• Never donate blood in empty stomach. Eat 3 hours prior to donation and ensure that what you eat is healthy consisting of foods rich in iron such as eggs, whole grains, beef, spinach and leafy vegetables
• Never consume alcohol or caffeine before donating blood
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After donating:

• Do not drive immediately but rest for some time (5-20 minutes)
• Eat high-sugar foods such as juice or snacks to rev up blood sugar levels
• Don’t go for a heavy workout soon after donating. It is better to take a day off from your gym activities
• Eat food rich in proteins and whole grains to bring back energy levels. Get a list of healthy foods rich in these nutrients from the website www.firsteatright.com. 

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Self-motivation is the Key to Blood Donation

​What Happens to Your Donated Blood?
The donated blood is used to save lives of millions of people such as anemic kids, women with severe anemia, accident victims with excess blood loss, cancer patients, thalassemia patients, people with sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, blood disorders, clotting disorders and more. When the needy people lack access to donation they face life-threatening challenges. We can ensure enough blood supply only when people are self-motivated to donate blood as an unpaid service.
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James Harrison, a blood plasma donor from Australia is also called as the ‘Man with the Golden Arm’ for his altruistic blood donation for a period of 60 years saving more than 2.4 million unborn babies. His blood has an unusual plasma composition that has been used treat Rhesus disease. This selfless man ‘retired’ from being a blood donor (Australian policy prohibits blood donation beyond the age of 81) making his last blood donation on May 11th, 2018. He pledged to donate blood after recovering from a life-threatening condition with the help of blood transfusion from other blood donors. Staying true to his pledge, he has done his level-best to save lives of other people, including his grandchild. James Harrison is an example for all of us to learn from situations and remains as a motivating factor for people to come forward and save lives.

We might hear that blood donations help a person lose weight and there is also a study done by the University of California researchers which shows that donating one pint of blood (450ml) helps the body burn about 650 calories. But this can never be used as a means for weight loss as it can cause devastating effects on the body when carried out in an uncontrolled manner.
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While blood donation remains a safe procedure that causes no harm to the donor when done under sterile conditions, it is always better to consult your doctor before choosing to donate blood. 

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