General Tips on Blood Donation

Donating blood is a divine experience.  I’ve just done it once, but surely plan to do more of it. I have heard enough of Blood Donation banks/camps, myths, Do’s and Don’ts etc…. I donated in Rotary Club, which once organized a Blood Donation Camp in my college. I don’t trust people, things, companies etc easily. And

having a good recognition in market has nothing to do with trust. Trust comes

from good personal  experience.

They say “never ask the shopkeeper, ask the customers(users) before shopping”. I did my home work and enquired from my professors and friends who’ve been donating from quite some time. I got unanimous

answer. Donating blood is divine experience and the organizers of this camp are

trusted by college authorities.

Here I won’t sing songs in honor of Rotary Club, rather here I’ll share my own experience.Before the Act ~  these people were polite enough with me, they took all my details like contacts etc. then with the help of a person in WHITE( not sure if he was a doctor), they checked if my body is capable enough to

donate the standard quantity of blood i.e. 450 ml.During the Act ~ I was made to lay down on a seat in a luxury bus( specially designed for this purpose having 8-10 single bed)  along

with other mates who showed their interest .

I’m not really scared of needles but when I saw a pointed tip of injections is been injected in my vein~ this horrified me! it was a little painful while injecting and at the time of taking out the needle. Rest was a

peaceful act. I was just asked to relax and be motionless for 5min.After the Act ~  I was asked to take rest for 5min and in the meanwhile I was made to drink two Real juices. They also gave me a large Red coloured mug( I still have it;-) It reminds me daily, that I once did a good work) but most importantly they gave a detailed Report after few days.

This report gave me a green chit that I’m healthy person( I hope, I’m still healthy). They gave a

report tested my blood sample for  number of diseases like~ malaria, hepatitis B and C, Syphilis, HIV I and II etc… and have found me negative for all these. But the most delighting thing that they told was,  my blood group i.e. O positive.  I always wanted to know my

blood group, but couldn’t know it. They told me that I’m a universal donor( quality of o+)! they also gave me a membership card which is valid for one year, which can be used incase of need by me or my known once.

However, I donated unrequitedly, but got a treasure of experience, a divine one! trust me it’s really a divine experience! I’ll list down little points to take care while donating blood!Please DO take care of yourself

1.You should have sound sleep a day before.

1. you aren’t suffering from any major illness/ weakness/disease

   
   




2. make sure you’ve had a reasonably heavy  meal, else it’ll make you feel  enervated.

   
   




3. you aren’t pregnant/down( if you’re a female)

   
   




4. you’re between  15-60 years of age( preferably a healthy  person 18-60 years)

   
   




5. The season isn’t at it’s best~ i.e.  extreme - summers at 45 degree( as body loses

   
   

glucose every hour) and rainy season- especially on rainy day when everything

is moist, sticky and we’re prone to bacterial infections.

1. after the donation take lot of water and/or juices

anything that’s nutritious- fluid/liquid is most advisable as body takes it

more quickly and digests it soon.

1. wear comfortable clothing with sleeves that can be

raised above the elbow

1. Say no to smoking, paan, tobacco, drinking

etc – at least on the D day, however

you  can smoke after 3-4 hours, you are

not eligible to donate blood if you have consumed alcohol 48 hours before

donation.10. Avoid work that involve lot of physical work, strain for next 4-6hours after donation.Blood donated is recovered within 24-48 hours, there’s hardly any need to worry. You can do this on regular bases like in a period 2-3 months. With good thing there’re always  myths/ rumors associated.

I’d love to throw some light on this.Don’t trust the Myths and gossips!Myth

1. Blood donation is one time wonder i.e. it’s done once in a life time.Myth

   
   




2. Blood donated won’t be recovered before

   
   

15-20daysMyth

1. People suffering from blood pressure cant donate blood.Myth

   
   




2. you’ll catch AIDS after donating blood.Myth

   
   




3. you may faint after donating blood and might

   
   

even go in coma.Myth 6. Alcohol can be substituted with water. The more

you take the better you’ll feel.Myth

1. Blood wont stop, once it’s in the flow of

coming out of body, it’ll keep on flowing endlessly.Myth

1. A donor must be treated like any other

patient, he needs high care, observation  and medication after blood donation.Myth

1. You loose lot of weight after donating blood –

so it’s a good news for over weight people and bad news of skinny thin people.Myth

1. Athletes, laborers, farmers and people who

do lot of physical work aren’t eligible for blood donationDonating blood is divine experience. But it requires reasonable care and caution. Donate blood in a recognized and trusted  blood bank/ camp. And not to forget, to do little homework before!Hope you also have a great experience as I did!PS;- After Dr. Sudipto

Chakravarty enlightened me on the standard quantity of blood donation, here I’m adding a medical fact~"Actual amount of blood taken from the body is about 200 - 250 ml only. The rest is the anticoagulant solution that prevents the blood from clotting.together, the blood - anticoagulant

mixture makes up 450 ml. "