Dr. Bhaskar Ganguly
ADMO, Kasturba Gandhi Hospital
“Blood is meant to circulate. Pass it around.”
Charity is the call of this period and to make a humble start of it ‘blood donation’ is one of the biggest examples. The majority of people are familiar with the Blood Donation Camps as it has become a part and parcel of routine social welfare activities. The concerted efforts by the government, non-governmental organizations, charitable trusts and staff in the blood transfusion services have witnessed a progressive increase in voluntary blood donation in the country. In the year 2006-07, Voluntary blood donation was only 54.4% which gradually increased to 74.1% in 2009-10 to 79.4% in 2010-11 and 83.1% in 2011-12. The total annual collection has also shown an absolute increase 4.4 million blood units in 2007-08 to 9.3 million units in 2012-13.The current scenario is definitely hopeful however challenges continue to exist.
Blood Group Discovery & Blood Donation:
What is your Blood Group? A common query though but the history is interesting. While studying the causes of death due to blood transfusion, Karl Land Steiner at Vienna University had identified few proteins Known as A, B, and O which are commonly called “Blood Group” and used as the commonest mode called as “Crossed-Matched Transfusion”. It was a breakthrough discovery as many chronic diseases,post-surgical death due to hemorrhage was controlled and there has been a gross reduction in mortality and morbidity burden in the world.
The history of voluntary blood donation in India dates back to 1942 during World War II when blood donors were required to help the wounded soldiers. The first blood bank was established in Kolkata, West Bengal in March 1942 at the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health and was managed by the Red Cross. Leela Moolgaonkar, a social reformer, initiated voluntary blood donation camps in Mumbai from 1954. In the 1960s many blood banks were established in different cities across our nation. In 1975, J. G. Jolly, the president of the Indian Society of Blood Transfusion and Immunohaematology declared October 1 as the National Voluntary Blood Donation Day, which has been observed throughout the country ever since.
Along the lines, development in blood donation witnessed stiff growth. Another addition was the HIV pandemic in the 1980s led the government of India to set up the National AIDS Control Organization, better known as NACO in 1992 to frame the policies in preventing the spread of HIV-AIDS. Subsequently, the National AIDS Control Programme was launched which led to drastic improvements in patient screening and hygienic blood transfusion procedures. For sake of readers who might not be aware that “Selling or donating blood in exchange of money” is illegal under the National Blood Transfusion Services Act 2007 and those found convicted may be imprisoned for 3 months with fine.
Criteria for a Blood Donor:
There are several parameters that determine the eligibility of an individual to donate blood. Guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Health, Government of India has to be followed by blood banks and organizations conducting blood donation camps.
Health factor – The donor must be fit and healthy, and should not be suffering from communicable diseases
Age and weight- The donor must be 18–60 years old and the weight of a minimum of 50 kg.
Pulse rate- between 50 and 100 without irregularities.
Hemoglobin level – A minimum of 12 g/dL.
Blood pressure- Diastolic: 50–100 mm Hg, Systolic: 100–180 mm Hg
Body temperature- should be normal, with an oral temperature not exceeding 37.5 °C.
The time period between successive blood donations should be more than 3 months.
Ineligibility for Blood Donation:
A person who has been tested HIV positive or other infectious diseases transmitted by blood like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Sexually transmitted diseases like Syphilis; other sexually transmitted diseases.
Individuals suffering from Hypertension, Ischemic and Coronary Heart disease, Chronic Liver diseases, Chronic Kidney disorders, Epilepsy, or patients on antipsychotic medications
- A person who has undergone ear/body tattooing of the body in the past 6 months.
- Individuals who have undergone vaccination in the past 1 month.
- Individuals treated for Rabies or received the Hepatitis B vaccine in the past 6 months.
- A person who has consumed alcohol in the past 24 hours.
- Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Individuals who have undergone major dental procedures or general surgeries in the past 1 month.
- Women who have had undergone an abortion in the past 6 months.
- Individuals who have had seizures, TB, Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Lung Disorders, allergic disorders in the past.
- Problems Faced by Health Care providers Regarding Supply Of Blood and Breaking Some Misconceptions:
Interesting Facts –
- The majority of blood donations take place in autumn or Winter Season and nowadays it’s a trend to call it “Blood donation Festival”. There is a common myth that if we donate blood during summer we will be dehydrated but that is not true.
- The life span of Red Blood cells is 120 days, which automatically gets replenished. All human beings have a continuous circulation of 5 liters of blood. During donation only 350 to 400 ml of it is extracted, not even 10% of the total blood that is circulated in our system.
- The maximum crisis of blood units takes place during summer to the monsoon, as majority cases of dengue, malaria and infectious diseases rise to the peak. Other blood-related disorders like thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, leukemias where the majority of patients are children require a frequent blood transfusion.
- Especially for women readers, it’s a wrong notion that women should not give blood after the 40s or during menstrual cycles. If your Haemoglobin is above 11.5 to 12 or above and you have no problematic menstruation, there is no inhibition in blood donation because during a normal menstrual cycle 35-80 ml blood is lost which is a very less quantity proportionate to the blood that is in your circulation.
Everyone should come forward and participate in blood donation and also motivate others. Let us make a chain. Let each one of us donate blood and stimulate three of our known persons who have a misconception in regard to this matter. Blood donation is one of the biggest testimonies of “SELFLESS UNIVERSAL SERVICE TO MANKIND”. And we all know that “SERVICE TO MANKIND IS SERVICE TO GOD”
