Blood Donation

Why Blood is required in hospitals?

Blood is required for patients undergoing surgeries like heart surgery, orthopedic surgery, organ transplant, bone-marrow transplant, and for treating accident victims, burn victims, sickle cell disease, anemic patients, bleeding disorder such as hemophilia, some cancer patients, and so on. [In the human body blood carries oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body]

How much blood is required?

According to some estimates in India more than 1crore [10 million] units of blood is required per year. But there is significant shortage of availability due to which some patients could not be saved during emergencies. [1 unit is 525 ml / 1pint]

Why blood donation?

So far no process is evolved to manufacture blood synthetically, and there is no substitute for blood. Hence blood required for treating needy patients is met only by other healthy persons who could donate.

One time blood donation by a person can save about three lives by supplying three different components that is red blood cells, plasma and platelets.

Who can donate blood?

Any healthy person –

1.   Above the age of 18 years and body weight above 45 kgs can donate blood. People above the age of 60 years are not recommended.

2.   Haemoglobin count more than 12 gms/dl for men and 12.5 gms/dl for women.

Who should not donate blood?

1. Any person infected with diseases transmissible by blood transfusion like -

1.1.  AIDS/HIV

1.2.  Hepatitis B or C

1.3.  Syphilis

2. Persons suffering from -

    2.1.  Cancer

    2.2.  Seizures

    2.3.  Acute respiratory desease

    2.4.  Skin infections

 3. Females during menstrual period.

 4. Person in empty stomach.

How much blood a person can donate?

In an average 7% of the body weight of a person is blood. A healthy male has about 76 ml blood per kg of his body weight, and a female has about 66 ml per kg of her body weight. A person needs only 50 ml of blood per kg of body weight for use. That means the balance 26 ml/16 ml is available as reserve! During blood donation only 8 ml blood per kg of body weight of a person is taken leaving still enough blood reserve.

A healthy person after donating blood will not become weak or exhausted. The red blood cells are replenished within 4 days and white blood cells within 3 weeks. The amount of blood removed during blood donation will be replenished by the body within 56 days without the need for any extra or special nutrients or care.

Any normal person can donate blood once in 90 days without having any ill effect on his body or health. But red blood cells could be donated once in 56 days or double red cells once in 112 days; and platelets once in 7 days but less than 24 times a year.

Complementary benefits to the blood donor

1.   Whenever some body donates blood the excess cholesterol in their blood is removed along with the plasma. This reduces the risk of clots and heart attack to the donor.

2.   Donating blood prevents hemochromatosis and helps to maintain iron content in blood.

3.   Blood donation helps to maintain healthy liver.

4.   The donor certificate issued while donating blood will entitle the donor to receive blood whenever he needs at free of cost.

How to donate blood?

Blood donation can be done at any of the Blood Banks or Blood Donation Camps held on some occasions.

A typical blood donation process may take about 20 minutes.

It is recommended to have some food and drink before the blood donation. The donor should not be empty stomach.

The formal process involves:

1.   Registration of the donor with personal details and past medical history.

2.   Medical examination, which includes checking of weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, blood group and hemoglobin test.

3.   To extract blood a sterile needle is used only once for each donor and then discarded. Donor may feel a small prick while inserting needle to the blood vessel, but no pain. An average person has 10 units of blood in his body. Normally close to 1 unit of blood per person is removed during blood donation. This process may take about 8 minutes.

4.   Soon after collection of blood the donor is made to sit and relax, some snacks and fruit juice is given.

5.   After consuming snacks and beverages, sitting and relaxing for about 15 minutes, the donor can move and engage with his routine. But should avoid strenuous work for rest of the day.

6.   Take enough liquid during next couple of hours to replenish the body fluid.

Types of Blood [or Blood group]

There are four main types of blood with totally 8 sub-groups:

                        O+   1 in 3 persons                       O-   1 in 15 persons

                        A+   1 in 3 persons                        A-   1 in 16 persons

                        B+   1 in 12 persons                      B-   1 in 67 persons

                        AB+ 1 in 29 persons                      AB- 1 in 167 persons

Components of Blood

Components of blood

There are four transfusable types of components in the blood. They are Red cells, Platelets, Plasma and Cryoprecipitate.

Blood donors can give either whole blood or only a specific blood component.

 

How to Stay Young

Some researchers have found that people who generally live longer do so partly because of good habits.  Few doctors have suggested some of the following good habits to stay youthful.

Stay Young

1.   Laugh and fun, don’t be gloomy. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

2.    Accompany only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3.    Tell the people that you love them, at every opportunity.

4.    Discard all the non-essential numbers. This includes age.

5.    Let bygones be bygones.  Dwelling on the past inflicts unnecessary stress.

6.    Early to bed, early to rise, is healthy & wise. Have good uninterrupted sleep every day.

7.    Keep learning, reading and socializing. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, some hobbies, whatever. Just never let your brain idle - an alert and active mind keeps brain cells healthy.

8.    Keep working, doing something you like.  Don’t retire, it slows down your body.

9.    Be the boss of your own life.  Letting others push you around produces stress.

10.  The only person who is with you your entire life is yourself. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.

11.  Your home is your refuge. Don’t take guilt trips.

12.  Stay lean, being just 30% overweight is quite bad.

13.  Constantly alternating between weight gain and loss is bad.

14.  Exercise, quit smoking and eat balanced and healthy food, less fatty foods.

15.  Cherish your health. If it is good—preserve it. If it is unstable—improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve—get help.

16.  Too many pills ruin your body, take just what you need only when it is required.

17.  Do not worry about life and death, just get on with your life and enjoy it.

18.  And remember that Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take ... but by the moments that take our breath away!

 Point numbers 19 &20 I have left it for you to share with us.

Tea to boost immune system

TEA

Tea boosts the body's defense against infection. Tea contains a substance that might be turned into a drug to protect against disease. A component in tea prime the immune system to attack invading bacteria, viruses and fungi.        L-theanine, substance in ordinary black tea, is broken down in the liver to ethylamine, a molecule that primes the response of an immune system element called the gamma-delta T cell. The T cells prompt the secretion of interferon, a key part of the body's chemical defense against infection.

Researchers claim that immune system blood cells from tea drinkers respond nearly five times faster to micro-organisms than does the blood cells of non tea drinkers.

AND NOW

Laughter Therapy

Laughter - the secret of good health

Laughter is the best medicine

Research conducted worldwide shows that laughter positively impacts various systems of our body. When you laugh, your lungs are exercised and your heart is given excellent 'tuning up' exercise. After a good laugh your blood pressure will be lower, your breathing will be easier and you will sleep better.

     Laughter helps to remove the negative effects of                 stress. More than 70% of the illnesses like anxiety,               tension, headaches, high blood pressure, heart                     disease, depression, peptic ulcer, stomach upsets, frequent cough and colds, insomnia, allergies, asthma, menstrual difficulties and even cancer has some relations to stress.

Laughter improves immune system

Laughter has multiple therapeutic benefits. Laughter can increase the body's ability to ward off infection by boosting levels of key immune system components, and also by decreasing levels of neuroendocrine hormones like spinephrine, cortisol, dopac, etc. associated with stress response and poor immune function. Laughing pumps pain-relieving, stress freeing endorphins into the bloodstream. More importantly, special healing hormones are released inside your body. Patients suffering from many illnesses including terminal diseases such as cancer and AIDS are also said to respond better and live longer if regular therapy is supplemented with laughter and a positive outlook.

Laughter relaxes facial muscles. Habitual laughing creates laugh lines in the face, giving more pleasing and attractive looks for the practitioner.

While there is no fun in taking Medicine, there is lot of Medicine in Fun.

Dr. Madan Kataria

Dr. Madan Kataria, a practicing physician at Mumbai in India felt that the benefits of laughter are not exploited properly by people. So he started the first Laughter Club on 13th March 1995 in Mumbai, meant to combine laughter and exercise based on proper breathing and stretching techniques to make the therapeutic benefits of laughter accessible easily and free of cost to all. Today it is believed there are several thousand Laughter Clubs all over the world in many countries like Australia, Canada, Demmark, Dubai, Germany, India, Italy, Malaysia, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, UK, USA and others.

Laughter Clubs

Laughter Clubs

A strong sense of humour is good for one's good health and happiness.