All You Must Know Before Donating Blood

With an aim to raise global awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products for transfusion, June 14 is observed as World Blood Donor Day. Apart from raising awareness, the day highlights the contribution of voluntary and unpaid blood donors in building the national health system. Needless to say, the noble act of donating blood can save many lives, and any adult can safely donate the blood. However, certain criteria and requirements must be followed to donate the blood, as men can safely donate blood once in three months, while the time period for women is fourth months. You can donate blood between the ages of 18 years to 65 years.

Elaborating on these requirements, Dr. Himanshu Lamba told Hindustan Times that the person willing to donate the blood shall be in good health both physically and mentally. By saying that only a single unit of blood that is 450 ml is collected from a donor, Dr. Lamba further listed some of the basic requirements of a blood donor.

Beginning by talking about the age group of the blood donors, which should be a minimum of 18 years, Dr. Lamba stressed that the blood donor should not be underweight and should be of minimum 55kgs.

Talking about the time gap, if the donor frequently donates the blood, the expert urged all to keep in mind that there should be an interval of 90 days in males and 120 days in females for donating the blood.

Before donating the blood, the pulse of the donor should range between 60- 100 bpm, while their Haemoglobin should be >or =12.5g/dL.

Stressing the importance of having adequate sleep, the expert informed that the donor shall not be a night shift worker without adequate sleep.

Before going for the blood donation, the donor shall not be on any kind of fast.

The doctor added that the donor should not show any signs of intoxication like consuming alcohol before donating the blood.

The donor shall not be affected by any kind of transmissible disease, which is transmitted especially through blood transfusion.

Lastly, the donor should not be suffering from any type of acute respiratory disease.

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