New Blog 1: Blood Donor

Blood Donor

The voluntary unpaid blood donation is a humanitarian act towards the sick by the healthy. No transfusion service can survive without blood donors. The well being and health of the blood donors is of prime importance for the medical profession. A lot has been discovered and written about protection of the recipients from the potential hazards of blood transfusion. A lot of money is being spent for the screening of donors for protection of recipients but very little attention is given to the health status of donors. The main reason is the fear of losing the donor in a time when the demand of blood is soaring all over the world and the donors are becoming scarce. The need for blood is great. On any given day, approximately 32,000 units of Red Blood Cells are needed. Accident victims, people undergoing surgery, and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer, or other diseases, such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia, all utilize blood. More than 23 million units of blood components are transfused every year1. In most countries, strict regulations have been established for the selection of blood donors that incorporate criteria that serve to protect both the donor and recipient2. A donor generally donates approximately 450 ml blood at the time of donation. One gram of haemoglobin contains 3.4 mg of iron. In a normal individual with 15 g of haemoglobin per dl, 100 ml of blood contains approximately 50 mg of iron. Thus removal of only 2 ml of blood results in the loss of 1 mg of iron3. If 450 ml of blood are taken in a donation approximately 225 mg of iron will be lost. If the donor has no iron deficiency, the erythrocytes and the haemoglobin level will generally return to normal within 3–4 weeks. Hence adequate iron stores are very important in maintenance of the donor health4.