Blood
National Voluntary Blood Donation Day: Significance and benefits of voluntary blood donation
Sep
Voluntary blood donation can not only save lives and help manage several disorders but also help the donor in a number of ways.
National Voluntary Blood Donation Day is observed every year on October 1. It was first observed on October 1 in the year 1975 by Indian Society of Blood Transfusion and Immunohematology, the organisation that was founded back in in the year 1971 on October 22. Blood donation is a noble act that can save many lives and help in management of certain disorders. Donating blood not just benefits the receiver but also the donor as it stimulates formation of new blood cells. (Also read: Blood donation: Is blood donation safe? How often can we donate blood?)
A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that donating blood may reduce the amount of iron people have in their bodies. Too much of iron in the body can increase your chances of getting cancer. The study found that frequent blood donors had lower risks of liver, lung, colon, stomach, and throat cancer.
“According to a study, India needs 14·6 million units of blood which remains unmet; leading to huge supply gap. 100% voluntary donations can enhance blood safety in India, but currently, only 70% of the blood donated is on a voluntary basis and 30% is still replacement blood. Although the National and State Blood Transfusion Councils, various NGOs and even corporates have taken steps to increase voluntary blood donations, it needs more concerted effort from all stakeholders to encourage the public for voluntary blood donations,” says Dr Sandeep Sewlikar – Head of Medical, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Roche Diagnostics India.
“Donating blood selflessly for the sake of humanity is referred to as voluntary blood donation. It helps patients by sufficing a live drug i.e blood, alleviates the blood shortage problem faced by blood centres and provides the donor certain benefits. Blood donors undergo a brief health check-up by a doctor pre-donation without any investment. Donors having higher normal haemoglobin levels keep their blood concentration under control with frequent donations. Above all donors gain the gratitude of the ailing patients thus the act of donation becomes emotionally rewarding for the donor,” says Dr Shweta Nayak- HOD- Blood Bank at Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj.
“The greatest gift that we as an individual can give another person is the gift of blood. There is a perpetual shortage of blood in blood banks all over the country. One blood donation can save up to three lives. The fact that we can store blood and use it when we need it in parts—whether you need the red cells, the plasma, or the platelets—has been a huge medical advance. Besides the obvious advantage to the recipient, blood donation is beneficial for the donors also. Firstly, a lot many times, since a person undergoes routine vital check-up prior to donation, hypertension can be identified in donors who have previously never checked their blood pressure. Also, since the donors blood is screened for haemoglobin and STDs, underlying anaemia and certain blood infections can also be diagnosed in the donor incidentally,” says Dr Tushar Tayal, Consultant, Internal Medicine, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram.
Benefits of regular blood donation
Dr Tayal list the following benefits of regular blood donation:
- Regular blood donation is linked to lower blood pressure and a lower risk for heart attacks.
- If your haemoglobin is too high, means the blood is thicker which has been associated with the formation of blood clots, heart attacks, and stroke. Blood donation helps to lower the viscosity of the blood and reduces the above-mentioned risks
- Blood donation will also make the donor aware of their own blood group.
- Blood donation also stimulates your body to start producing fresh blood cells.
- Lastly, blood donation gives a sense of wellbeing to the donor for having done community service and done their role in saving someone’s life.
How access to safe blood can change many lives
“There are patients who thrive on repeated blood transfusions like thalassemia, sickle cell anaemia, cancer etc. There is another group of patients who require blood transfusions due to some medical conditions like excessive bleeding due to trauma, childbirth or dengue with very low platelet counts etc. Availability of safe and sufficient blood is inevitable for their well-being. Transmission of infectious diseases to patients through blood transfusion adds to their pre-existing disease burden. This is particularly distressing in younger patients who carry the contracted disease for rest of their lives. There comes the importance of regular, repeat voluntary donors. It is important that people donate blood responsibly and co-operate blood centres select the right donor. Blood centres have the responsibility to endeavour for the best blood screening practices to provide safest blood possible,” says Dr Nayak.
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