A Gurugram based private hospital is all set to spread awareness about blood donation in India. World Blood Donor Day will be observed worldwide on Wednesday. This year’s theme for World Blood Donor Day is ‘Give Blood, Give Now and Give Often’. This theme throws light on the urgent requirement of blood during accidents, emergencies, causalities and how being a human we can facilitate the process of healing and help the victims to fight these adverse conditions.
"In low-income countries, 65 per cent of blood transfusions are given to children under 5 years of age. In high-income countries, the most frequently transfused patient group is 65 years of age, accounting for up to 76 per cent of all transfusions. Data reported to WHO shows significant increases of voluntary unpaid blood donations in low- and middle-income countries," said Dr Sangeeta Agarwal, Consultant, Transfusion Medicine, Fortis Memorial Research Institute.
Those who want to donate blood should be wary of certain facts about pre, post blood donation. Like, people belonging to the age group 18-65 years can donate blood. The ideal weight of the blood donors should be more than 45 kg. At the time of donating blood, the pulse rate should be around 50 to 100 per minute without any irregularities. The body temperature should be normal and the oral temperature should not exceed 37.5 degree Celsius. Blood pressure of the donor is also measured. It should lie within the normal range of 160/100. If the donor is taking any kind of medication, then they should get a screen test done before proceeding with the donation.
The donor should drink 10-12 glasses of water within 24 hours of donating blood and should not consume alcohol for the next 24 hours. The donor should also avoid driving, prolonged exposure to sun and smoking for at least 4-5 hours after donation.
