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| Why should I become a blood donor? |
| You have just taken an important step by deciding to give the
precious gift of life. Your pint of blood may save an accident victim,
help a premature baby or be used to help in the fight against cancer.
In a life-threatening situation such as emergency surgery, a patient
may use dozens of units of blood. There is no substitute for blood.
People are the only source. |
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| I don't think I'm eligible, am I? |
| Our professionally trained blood bank staff will evaluate eligibility
through your medical history and mini-physical at each donation.
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| Will it hurt? |
| Giving blood is not painful. You may feel a pinch in the beginning
lasting only a couple of seconds. Local anesthesia is applied in
all cases before donation. |
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| Can I eat first? |
| Yes, it is recommended that you have eaten within several hours
prior to donating. |
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| Are blood donors paid? |
| No, all blood we collect is from volunteer donations from individuals
giving the gift of life to help an ill or injured patient. |
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| I'm too busy, how long will it take? |
| Think of many lives your one pint of blood may save. Isn't a
20 minuets worth someone's life? |
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| Can I get AIDS? |
| Absolutely not! All equipment used to collect blood is sterile.
These items are used once and discarded. Blood collections are performed
by professionally trained blood bank personnel whose primary concern
is your safety and the safety of the blood to be transfused. |
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| May I still donate if I have high blood pressure? |
| No, if your are on medication. |
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| What if I'm taking aspirin or medication prescribed by my doctor?
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| Mild analgesics such as aspirin and ibuprofen will not affect
a whole blood donation. Aspirin however, will defer a platelet pheresis
donation. Many other medications are acceptable, however it is recommended
that you call the blood bank ahead of time to inquire whether or
not you are eligible. |
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| What if I have anemia? |
| If you have anemia, you cannot give blood. But anemia is often
a temporary condition that can be corrected with diet. We test your
blood for iron content before your donation. |
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| What if I faint? |
| The likelihood of this happening is minimal. You should eat before
donating and drink extra fluids, especially after your donation.
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| What if I'm on a sports team? |
| Athletes can donate as regularly as anyone else. Be sure to give
your body a day to replace most of the volume you donated. Do not
give blood on the day you are scheduled to compete. |
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| What are the minimum requirements to become a donor? |
| To become a donor at the INDU Blood Bank,
you must be at least 18 years of age, be in good health, and weigh
at least 45 kgs. Upper age limit is 65 years. |
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| How often can I donate blood? |
| Whole blood can be donated once every 12 weeks. Apheresis donations
can be made 24 times a year for platelets and 12 times a year for
plasma. |
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| How long does it take to replenish my blood after a donation?
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| Your body replenishes the fluid lost from donation within 24
hours. It may take up to two months to replace the lost Red Blood
Cells. |
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| What makes up whole blood? |
| Whole blood is a living tissue that circulates through the heart,
arteries, veins and capillaries carrying nourishment, electrolytes,
hormones, vitamins, antibodies, heat and oxygen to the body's tissues.
Whole blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets
suspended in a proteinaceous fluid called plasma. If blood is treated
to prevent clotting and permitted to stand in a container, the red
blood cells, weighing the most, will settle to the bottom; the plasma
will stay on top; and the white blood cells and platelets will remain
suspended between the Plasma and the red blood cells. A centrifuge
may be used to hasten this separation process. The platelet-rich
plasma is then removed and placed into a sterile bag, and it can
be used to prepare platelets and plasma or cryoprecipitated AHF.
To make platelets, the platelet-rich plasma is centrifuged, causing
the platelets to settle at the bottom of the bag. Plasma and platelets
are then separated and made available for transfusion. The plasma
may also be pooled with plasma from other donors and further processed,
or fractionated, to provide purified plasma proteins such as albumin,
immunoglobulin and clotting factors. |
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| Can I self-donate for an anticipated medical procedure?
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| Autologous collections or transfusions refer to those
transfusions in which the blood donor and transfusion recipient
are the same. The autologous donation is a preoperative donation
of blood for possible transfusion back to the donor during elective
surgery. |
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