…Give The Gift Of Life: Donate Blood
Have you ever wanted to give back
to humanity and didn’t have a clue what to do/give?
Have you ever wanted to do
something absolutely humanitarian with the intent and realization that you
would get nothing back in return?
Then today should be an amazing
day for you to do just that.
Today is the World Blood Donor
Day. This day serves 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. You don’t have to be a doctor
to save lives. Sharing your bloodline is a considerable gift: Each donation can
save up to three people
With this year’s slogan "Give the gift of
life: donate blood", it couldn't capture the essence of the importance of
donating blood more.
This year’s campaign is a very
significant one too as it is the 10th anniversary of World Blood Donor Day, and it will focus on the value of donated
blood to the patient, not only in saving life, but also in helping people live
longer and more productive lives.
Safe blood supplies are a scarce
commodity, especially in developing countries like ours. World Blood Donor Day
is an occasion to raise awareness of the problem and thank donors worldwide.
BEFORE DONATION
- Maintain a healthy iron level in your diet by eating iron rich foods, such as red meat, fish, poultry, beans, spinach, iron-fortified cereals and raisins.
- Get a good night's slee
- Drink an extra 16 oz. of water or nonalcoholic fluids before the donation
- Eat a healthy meal before your donation. Avoid fatty foods, such as hamburgers, fries or ice cream before donating. (Fatty foods can affect the tests we do on your blood. If there is too much fat in your blood, your donation cannot be tested for infectious diseases and the blood will not be used for transfusion.)
- If you are a platelet donor, remember that your system must be free of aspirin for two days prior to donation
- Take your temperature
- Bathe before you donate
- Your Hemoglobin level should not be low. Your blood pressure should not be low. You Must not be suffering from hepatitis B, hepatitis C, Syphilis, HIV/AIDS and malaria
- Concerning tattoos and piercings, most donors with tattoos/piercing must wait at least 6 months after tattoo/piercing application before donating blood.
- Remember to bring your donor card, driver's license or two other forms of ID.
AFTER DONATION
- Drink an extra four (8 ounce) glasses of liquids and avoid alcohol over the next 24 hours.
- Remove the wrap bandage (if you had one put on your arm) within the next hour.
- Keep the strip bandage on for the next several hours.
- To avoid a skin rash, clean the area around the strip bandage with soap and water.
- Do not do any heavy lifting or vigorous exercise for the rest of the day.
- If the needle site starts to bleed, apply pressure to it and raise your arm straight up for about 5-10 minutes or until bleeding stops.
- If you experience dizziness or light-headedness after donation, stop what you are doing and sit down or lie down until you feel better. Avoid performing any activity where fainting may lead to injury for at least 24 hours.
- Do not smoke for thirty minutes and avoid smoking areas.
- Avoid drinking alcohol for a minimum of 4 hours.
