Know it better: NJOO TUOKOE MAISHA

BLOOD DONATION(KUCHANGIA DAMU)

by Constantine A Ntanguligwa- MD student Muhimbili University of health and allied sciences

What is blood donation?

A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions.
Donation may be of whole blood or of specific components directly
Blood banks often participate in the collection process as well as the procedures that follow it.
A blood bank, just like any other bank is responsible to obtain safe blood and monitoring the provision to the needy

HISTORY OF BLOOD TRANSFUSION:

http://www.redcrossblood.org/learn-about-blood/blood-transfusions/history- blood-transfusion

Why give blood?

Giving blood saves lives. The blood you give is a lifeline in an emergency and for people who need long-term treatment
Many people would not be alive today if donors had not generously given their blood.
Forexample, We need over 6,000 blood donations every day to treat patients in need across England. Which is why there’s always a need for people to give blood.
Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
For developing countries like Tanzania its even worse and the demand is highest.

Process of donating blood

1. Getting ready for donation

Hydrate, Be sure to drink plenty of fluids on the day of your donation.
Wear Something Comfortable, Wear clothing with sleeves that can easily be rolled up above the elbow.
Maintain a Healthy Level of Iron in Your Diet Before Donating,If possible, include iron-rich foods in your diet, especially in the weeks before your donation.
Please bring either your donor card if you had previously donated or other forms of identification if any.
Bring along a friend, so that you may both enjoy the benefits of giving blood.

Relax! Blood donation is a simple and very safe procedure so there is nothing to worry about

2. DONATION PROCESS

3. AFTER DONATION

Hydrate More. You should continue to drink water throughout the day of your donation.

Avoid Heavy Lifting or Exercise. Try not to exert yourself too much for the rest of the day.

What Happens to Donated Blood?

Step 1: After The Donation

The bag, test tubes and the donor record are labeled with an identical bar code label to keep track of the donation

The donation is stored in iced coolers until it is transported to a Red Cross center

Step 2: Processing

Donated blood is scanned into a database

Most blood is spun in centrifuges to separate the transfusable components – red cells, platelets, and plasma.

Single donor platelets are leukoreduced and bacterially tested.Test tubes are sent for testing.

Step 3: Testing

Steps 2 and 3 take place in parallel

The test tubes are received in one of three Red Cross National Testing Laboratories

A dozen tests are performed on each unit of donated blood – to establish the blood type and test for infectious diseases.
Test results are transferred electronically to the manufacturing facility within 24 hours.

If a test result is positive, the unit is discarded and the donor is notified. Test results are confidential and are only shared with the donor.

Step 4: Storage

When test results are received, units suitable for transfusion are labeled and stored

LASTLY:Blood is given to the needy.

Advantage ya kuchangia damu kwa mchangiaji:

Utapatiwa kitambulisho maalumu ambapo ukiwa na mgonjwa wako mwenye uhitaji wa damu au wewe mwenyewe ukihitaji damu, utapatiwa bure sababu ulishaokoa maisha ya wengine.

NB:Ongezeko la uhitaji wa damu salama hasa katika hospitali yetu ya taifa muhimbili ni mkubwa mno.

Who can use your donated blood? Only blood groups that match can be transfusable

Blood group classification:Blood can be classified into various groups

All human blood may look alike, but you can’t donate to just anyone and you can’t receive blood from just anyone. Different blood types need to be matched correctly.

We have blood groups A,B, AB and O

Like eye color, blood type is passed genetically from your parents. Whether your blood group is type A, B, AB or O is based on the blood types of your mother and father. It’s inherited

Facts about blood transfusion:

A recent research conducted by the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) shows that the requirements for safe blood within Tanzania is at about 400,000 to 450,000 of bottles with a capacity of 450 millilitres.
Low donor turnouts means that the national demand is not being met.
In the first quarter of 2015 alone only 18,000 bottles have been collected. In a country where key national health institutions such as Muhimbili requires 50+bottles on a daily basis the numbers represent a very dark picture.
Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
The blood type most often requested by hospitals is type O.
The blood used in an emergency is already on the shelves before the event occurs.
It is estimated that sickle cell disease affects 90,000 to 100,000 people in the U.S. About 1,000 babies are born with the disease each year. Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives.
More than 1.68 million people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2016. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment
A single car accident victim can require upto as many as 10 bottles of blood.

How can one donation help multiple people?

In modern medical treatments, patients may receive a bottle of whole blood or just specific components of the blood needed to treat their particular condition.
Up to four components can be derived from donated blood
This approach to treatment, referred to as blood component therapy, allows several patients to benefit from one unit of donated whole blood.
The main transfusable blood components include: blood as whole, red cells,platelets and plasma

BLOOD BANKS:

The blood bank is available at the Muhimbili national hospital near the emergency building where you can visit any time during week days upto 1pm ofices are open.You can also become a member of blood donors association voluntarily where you get a chance to donate blood on regular basis