Why Donating Blood Could Be the Best Thing You Do for Your Health and Others

Advantages of Blood Donation

1. It gives you a free mini physical examination. Before donating blood, your hemoglobin level will be tested. If it is low, then you will not be allowed to donate blood. Besides hemoglobin, your blood pressure level and body weight will also be checked. In addition, your blood will also be examined for detecting the presence of five diseases, namely, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. If you are not suffering from these diseases, only then will you be allowed to donate your blood.

2. Chances of heart disease and strokes are about 30% less in men who donate blood regularly.

3. Reduces blood pressure.

4. Iron overloading is also thought to increase the risk of heart diseases. Besides, iron oxidizes cholesterol, which is harmful to the arteries. Hemochromatosis is a genetic disease characterized by the excess accumulation of iron in the tissues due to improper metabolism. The disease can cause damage to many organs like the pancreas, adrenal glands, etc. It may also cause diabetes, liver diseases, and heart diseases. So, donating blood on a regular basis would help you to regulate the level of iron in your body. Studies have shown that donating blood regularly can be beneficial for the heart and circulatory system and can reduce the risk of heart diseases, especially among young people.

5. Production of new red blood cells is enhanced. Bone marrow is activated.

6. Burns calories: one unit of blood donation causes the burning of about 650 calories.

7. Feeling of euphoria and well-being.

A unit of blood donated by you can benefit three persons. Blood can be separated into RBC, PLASMA, and PLATELETS. All of them are life-saving.

THAT'S WHY BLOOD DONATION IS ALSO CALLED RAKTDAAN MAHADAAN

Thank you, Mr. Raghu, for providing such useful information to all our members. If we donate blood, it will be beneficial for us. I hope it will enhance the volume of donors in our group. I have donated blood 53 times until now, and my 54th donation will be in January 2013.

Hats off for your blood donations! Wow, 53 times, oh! When I saw your commitment, the following incident came to my mind.

In the last week of November 2011, one of my cousins was severely suffering from some kind of blood-related disease (I can't remember the medical name of the disease). She was admitted to Ramachandra Medical College, Chennai. The doctors informed us that we needed to do the operation immediately. They could provide the blood they had saved for other operations, but we needed to replace the blood within the scheduled time or arrange the blood for the operation within 6 hours. My mom called me in the middle of the night and asked me to arrange 6 units of blood immediately for the operation. We had only 6 hours left.

I was in Africa at that time. I tried to call most of my friends, but nobody responded because it was around 3:00 am in India. Fortunately, one of my friends answered my call and said it's not a problem. He would inform our friends and reach the hospital on time (it only takes 90 minutes to reach the hospital from my hometown). I was very happy and relayed the message to my mom immediately. Within a few minutes, I received a call from my friend. He said, "Yeah, we were drunk yesterday. Is it a problem to donate blood?" I was silent for a few minutes on the phone and then asked him to try to find some guys in our group who were willing to donate blood and had not been drinking for at least the last 24 hours. Finally, with the help of my friends, we managed to get 4 units of blood, and we borrowed 2 units from the hospital. The operation was successful, and she was fine.

The next day, 6 of my friends who had been drinking the previous day in Chennai donated, I think, 8 units of blood to the hospital.

What I'm trying to say is, you have donated 53 times, meaning you have saved more than at least 50 lives without seeking anything from anybody. It's not a small thing, sir. Again, hats off to you, sir.

We need to educate our people regarding the advantages of blood donation.

Team,

If possible, please circulate this message to all your employees as well as your contacts.

Thank you, Mr. Raghu, for providing such useful information to all our members. If we donate blood, it will be beneficial for us. I hope it will increase the number of donors among our members.

I have donated blood 53 times until now, and the 54th time will be in January 2013.

Best regards,
Regards

Thank you for your wishes, Raghu. We started donating blood just for fun, and if we donate blood while in defense, we will get two days of rest. To utilize the rest days, we used to go and donate blood voluntarily.

Safety Month Blood Donation Camp

Now, at the beginning of the year, we are celebrating Safety Month in our organization, and during that time, we will organize a blood donation camp for one day. I regularly donate blood on such occasions. In case of any emergency, I also go if the call is after April. Feel free to inform me in case of any emergency for any donation. My blood group is O+ve.

Regards.

Raghu: Thanks for initiating the thread. Everyone should donate blood at least twice a year. I remember reading that quantity-wise, new blood generates within 48 hours, and qualitatively, it takes 3 months. I used to donate blood until 2010 but stopped on a doctor's advice.

Bhaskar: Hats off to you. I am closely associated with one of the popular blood banks socially. They are doing excellent work in Maharashtra.

Thanks & Regards,
Sudhir

I have donated blood seven times as required. The intervals were approximately one year, eight months, and then two years. Is there any issue with donating blood at irregular intervals? Please guide.

Thanks & Regards,
Surjya

Although your question is for Raghu, I take the opportunity to answer. We had a blood donation camp recently. The doctor was invited for a lecture on the same. He addressed an audience of 200 senior members. Someone asked the same question. He said that quantity-wise, it is safe to donate blood every 2 days, but quality-wise, it is advisable to wait for 3 months. Authentically, one can donate blood after 3 months without any problem. Any higher frequency would not matter.

Thanks & Regards,
Sudhir

Blood Donation Requirements

For donating blood, the following conditions must be fulfilled:

• One must be above 18 years and below 60 years.
• One's hemoglobin level must be above 14.
• In the last six months, the donor should not have undergone any surgery.
• In the last month, the donor should not have had a fever or any other disease requiring antibiotic treatment.
• In the last week, the donor should not have consumed alcohol.
• If the donor is a woman, she should not donate during her menstrual period.
• The donor's weight must be above 50 kg.

Thank you for your interest in blood donation. It's important to meet all the necessary criteria to ensure the safety of both the donor and the recipient.

Best regards