WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY (JUNE-14)

      WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY (JUNE-14) 

On 14 June, countries worldwide celebrate World Blood Donor Day with events to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood. The theme of the 2012 World Blood Donor Day campaign, “Every blood donor is a hero” focuses on the idea that every one of us can become a hero by giving blood. While recognizing the silent and unsung heroes who save lives every day through their blood donations, the theme also strongly encourages more people all over the world to donate blood voluntarily and regularly.

• Every year our nation requires about 4 Crore units of blood, out of which only a meager 40 Lakh units of blood are available.
• The gift of blood is the gift of life. There is no substitute for human blood.
• Every two seconds someone needs blood.
• More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day.
• A total of 30 million blood components are transfused each year.
• The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 pints.
• The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O.
• Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives.
• More than 1 million new people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
• A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood

Facts about the blood supply

• Blood cannot be manufactured – it can only come from generous donors.
• Type O-negative blood (red cells) can be transfused to patients of all blood types. It is always in great demand and often in short supply.
• Type AB-positive plasma can be transfused to patients of all other blood types. AB plasma is also usually in short supply.

Facts about the blood donation process

• Donating blood is a safe process. A sterile needle is used only once for each donor and then discarded.
• Blood donation is a simple four-step process: registration, medical history and mini-physical, donation and refreshments.
• Every blood donor is given a mini-physical, checking the donor's temperature, blood pressure, pulse and hemoglobin to ensure it is safe for the donor to give blood.
• The actual blood donation typically takes less than 10-12 minutes. The entire process, from the time you arrive to the time you leave, takes about an hour and 15 min.
• The average adult has about 10 units of blood in his body. Roughly 1 unit is given during a donation.
• A healthy donor may donate red blood cells every 56 days, or double red cells every 112 days.
• A healthy donor may donate platelets as few as 7 days apart, but a maximum of 24 times a year.
• All donated blood is tested for HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis and other infectious diseases before it can be transfused to patients.

Facts about blood and its components

• Blood makes up about 7 percent of your body's weight.
• There are four types of transfusable products that can be derived from blood: red cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitate. Typically, two or three of these are produced from a unit of donated whole blood – hence each donation can help save up to three lives.
• Donors can give either whole blood or specific blood components only. The process of donating specific blood components – red cells, plasma or platelets – is called apheresis.
• One transfusion dose of platelets can be obtained through one apheresis donation of platelets or by combining the platelets derived from five whole blood donations.
• Donated platelets must be used within five days of collection.
• Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma and platelets. The body will replenish the elements given during a blood donation – some in a matter of hours and others in a matter of weeks.

Facts about donors

• The number one reason donors say they give blood is because they "want to help others."
• Two most common reasons cited by people who don't give blood are: "Never thought about it" and "I don't like needles."
• One donation can help save the lives of up to three people.
• If you began donating blood at age 18 and donated every 90 days until you reached 60, you would have donated 30 gallons of blood, potentially helping save more than 500 lives!
• Only 7 percent of people in India have O-negative blood type. O-negative blood type donors are universal donors as their blood can be given to people of all blood types.
• Type O-negative blood is needed in emergencies before the patient's blood type is known and with newborns who need blood.
• Thirty-five percent of people have Type O (positive or negative) blood.
• 0.4 percent of people have AB-blood type. AB-type blood donors are universal donors of plasma, which is often used in emergencies, for newborns and for patients requiring massive transfusions.

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·         Blood transfusion saves lives and improves health, but many patients requiring transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood. The need for blood transfusion may arise at any time in both urban and rural areas. The unavailability of blood has led to deaths and many patients suffering from ill-health.  Around 92 million units of blood donations are collected globally every year. Nearly 50% of these blood donations are collected in high-income countries, home to 15% of the world’s population. An adequate and reliable supply of safe blood can be assured by a stable base of regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donors. Regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donors are also the safest group of donors as the prevalence of blood borne infections is lowest among these donors.

·          Ten facts you need to know about blood transfusion

·         1. Blood transfusion saves lives and improves health.

·         However, many patients requiring transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood. Every country needs to ensure that blood supplies are sufficient and free from HIV, hepatitis viruses and other infections that can be transmitted through unsafe transfusion.

·         2. Transfusions are used to support various treatments.

·         In high-income countries, transfusion is most commonly used to support advanced medical treatment and complex surgeries like open-heart surgery and advance trauma care. In low- and middle-income countries it is used often for management of pregnancy-related complications, childhood malaria complicated by severe anaemia and trauma-related injuries.

·         3. An adequate supply of safe blood can only be assured through regular donation by voluntary unpaid blood donors.

·         Adequate supply of safe blood can only be assured through regular donation by voluntary unpaid blood donors, because the prevalence of blood borne infections is lowest among these donors. It is higher among donors who give blood only as a replacement when it is required for a family and among those who give blood for money or other forms of payment.

·         4. Voluntary unpaid donors account for 100% of blood supplies in 62 countries.

·         Since the inception of World Blood Donor Day in 2004, 111 countries have reported an increase in the number of voluntary donations. But in 40 countries, less than 25% of blood supplies come from voluntary unpaid donors.

·         5. Around 92 million blood donations are collected globally every year.

·         About 50% of these are donated in low- and middle-income countries where nearly 85% of the world’s population lives. The average blood donation rate is more than 13 times greater in high-income countries than in low-income countries.

·         6. Collections at blood centres vary according to income group.

·         About 8000 blood centres in 159 countries report collecting, on an average, 10 000 blood donations per centre (range from 20 to almost 500 000). The average annual collection per blood centre is 30 000 in high-income countries, 7500 in middle-income countries and 3700 in low-income countries.

·         7. People in high-income countries donate blood more frequently than in low- or middle-income countries.

·         The median blood donation rate in high-income countries is 36.4 donations per 1000 people. This compares with 11.6 donations per 1000 people in middle-income countries and 2.8 donations in low-income countries.

·         8. Donated blood should always be screened.

·         All donated blood should always be screened for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis prior to transfusion. Yet in 39 countries not all donated blood is tested for one or more of these infections. Testing is not reliable in many countries because of staff shortages, poor quality test kits, irregular supplies, or lack of basic laboratory services.

·         9. A single unit of blood can benefit several patients.

·         Separating blood into its various components allows a single unit of blood to benefit several patients and provides a patient only the blood component which is needed. About 91% of the blood collected in high-income countries, 72% in middle-income countries and 31% in low-income countries is separated into blood components.

·         10. Unnecessary transfusions expose patients to needless risk.

·         Often transfusions are prescribed when simple and safe alternative treatments might be equally effective. As a result such a transfusion may not be necessary. An unnecessary transfusion exposes patients to the needless risk of infections or severe transfusion reactions.

Prof. John Kurakar