Blood, a gift for life
Every 120 days, you have the opportunity to touch someone’s life!
Mamun Ali Khan
The common saying goes -- "Donate blood, save life". But how far we are dedicated to donate blood? Are we conscious about humanity? The answer is just a little bit. We can realise the matter when our near and dear one is about to die due to acute crisis of blood. In our country there is severe crisis of blood. But we are not conscious about that. Some wrong concepts force us to abstain from donating blood. It is a good sign that few leading organisations such as Red Crescent, Shandhani, Quantum Foundation and Badhan (DU), Manna Memorial (ICMAB) etc. are carrying out commendable work on blood collection, distribution as well as advocacy on blood donation. Here I am going to focus the scopes and different aspects of blood donation:Eligibility The person who is /whose -- *Aged between 18 to 60(both male & Female) *Body weight not below 45 Kg. *Blood pressure is 180/110-100/60 * Blood contain 125 gm Hemoglobin. *Heart bit is 40-100 per minute. * Physically fit. *Not suffering from Anemia, Hepatitis, Jaundice, Tuberculosis, Bleeding disorder, Cardiac diseases, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases like Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Rheumatic fever, Asthma, Drug abused etc. Why should you donate blood? The demand of blood in human body can be met up/replaced by human blood. There is no other alternative of blood. There is a hoarding on the road sides of England where it is inserted that- "If the blood bank could make a rule that those who has donated blood only they would have the right to have blood.” We can say this word in the other way- Have you donated blood in a blood bank? If not, you have no chance to have blood at the time of your need. So we should have positive thinking about blood donation. Benefit of blood donation There are two aspects of donating blood- 1) Personal benefit 2) To obey the social responsibilities. Personal benefits contain the following: *If you donate blood to any blood bank, you will get a Donor's card and with the help of this card you might have another bag of blood free of cost at the time of your crisis or your relatives’ crisis. *If you donate blood for the first time, you would be able to know your blood group without any charge. *If you donate blood in a blood bank, your blood will be screened for HbsAg (Hepatitis) and VDRL (test for some sexually transmitted diseases). So you can get free medical check up. Voluntary blood donation and few wrong concepts A. I have no blood in my body, how will I donate blood? Bear in mind that a person who is physically fit and whose weight is at least 45 kg, his body contain 5.5 litre blood. At the time of donating blood 250 ml blood only is taken. B. I have come to know that blood donation causes the loss of energy from body -- This is absolutely falsehood. Red blood cells (RBC) are produced in our body from the bone marrow and it has a life span of 120 days after which it is destroyed. So an adult person can easily donate one bag of blood after every four months. WHO recommendations WHO and the International Federation recommend that -- *All adults are considered whether they are eligible to donate blood and if they are to become regular donors. *Transfusion therapy should be accessible without discrimination to all those in need. *Civic education should be taught in schools at all levels and include education on blood donation. *Health authorities should implement strategies and programme of education and promotion for preventive health care provide alternatives to blood for volume replacement and provide access to essential drugs which may reduce the need for transfusion. *All blood supply should be systematically tested prior to use. *Blood transfusion services should be allocated sufficient funds to implement training programmes for developing quality system and to maintain sustainable system. *In a true spirit of capacity building special assistance should be given to develop strong blood donation programmes systematically in countries that are in most urgent need of a safe a sustainable blood supply. From where you can get blood during emergency *The Red Crescent has several units for collection and distribution of blood. *Shandhani has 14 units all over the country. They are located in 13 public medical colleges and Dhaka Dental College. *Quantum Foundation has several units for collection and distribution of blood. *Badhan, a volunteer organisation of blood donation of Dhaka University. *Manna Memorial, a social welfare organisation of ICMAB, Dhaka campus has a blood bank. The picture of our country The total demand of blood in our country are around 3 lac bags per year (Ref. Shandhani). But Blood Banks can collect around 1 lac bags. The rest of the demand is met by party donation and professional sources, which are highly risky. With a view to meet the total demand of blood "Safe Blood Transfusion projects" is badly needed to be implemented. The total demand for blood may be fulfilled easily if people are conscious enough. But to make people conscious about blood donation regular advocacy programme is a must.
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