Donate blood, save life

Any healthy person aged 18 to 60 years, weighing more than 50 kg and free from infections, are eligible to donate blood about three times a year. Sad to say, the citizens of our country only donate blood when their relatives or friends are in crisis.

According to the American Red Cross, donating one unit of blood may save the lives of up to three people. Clinical conditions that require blood supply are predominantly surgeries, accidents, severe anaemia, chronic illness, several blood disorders, like thalassemia, blood cancers, etc. Therefore, the need for blood is constant. But unfortunately, scientists could not still manage to find a way of manufacturing safe blood or a substitute in the laboratory, leaving humans as the only source of safe blood. Donating blood is, therefore, a life-saving action. Moreover, it is considered the best gift one person can give to others- the gift of life, for sure.

Any healthy person aged 18 to 60 years, weighing more than 50 kg and free from infections, are eligible to donate blood about three times a year. Sad to say, the citizens of our country only donate blood when their relatives or friends are in crisis. Only 0.02 to 0.04% of the total population donate blood in our country, whereas the figure should rise to 2% to meet the desired requirement. To achieve this goal, healthy adults should come forward to donate blood to save lives.

The main component of our blood is red blood cells which can live up to 120 days in our body and then die, the maximum life span among other blood cells. Therefore, to compensate for the loss, our bone marrow continuously produces the same amount of blood cells in our body. This denotes that if someone donates blood, the body will recover it within a normal physiological process and thus, allow a person to donate blood at a four-month interval.

Donating blood not only helps the recipients but also the donors are highly benefited, such as,   

• Being part of such a noble act of saving lives will provide you with a sense of pride and belonging.

• In order to donate blood, you will be required to undergo a free mini-health checkup (as such, weight, pulse, blood pressure) which can offer an insight into your overall health condition.

• Your blood will also be screened against potential health infections, like, HIV, Hepatitis B & C, Syphilis and Malaria for free, which you may be unaware of.

• Donating blood helps keep your cholesterol level in control, thus minimising the risk of cardiovascular disease.

• It helps to keep your liver healthy.

• Donating blood helps your bone marrow to stay active.

• Last but not least, you will be given a donor card through which you can receive blood whenever you are in need.

After all, the benefits of blood donation are considerable, but the most essential part of this rewarding activity is helping to save lives. Therefore, we, the citizens of our country, should uphold the slogan, "Donate Blood, Save Life", in our hearts and encourage ourselves and the people to come forward so that not even a single human dies due to scarcity of blood.

The writer works as a Research and Policy Assistant in Centre for Research, Innovation and Development Action (CRIDA).