❍ First and foremost, your donated blood will save a person's life.

❍ Regular blood donation reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke.

❍ Regular voluntary blood donation can be done at no cost to find out if there is anger in the big corners of one's body. Such as: Hepatitis-B, Hepatitis-C, Malaria, Syphilis, HIV (AIDS) etc.

❍ Regular blood donation stimulates the formation of new particles in the human body. Within 2 weeks of blood donation, new blood cells are born and the deficiency is filled. And donating blood 3 times a year enlivens the cells in your body and increases the rate of oil and new particles.

❍ Regular blood donation prevents hemochromatosis. The presence of excess iron in the body is called hemochromatosis. Regular blood donation helps to reduce the presence of cholesterol in the blood.

❍ Blood is required everyday by hospitals. There are about 80 million units of blood that are donated each year by voluntary and paid donors. However there is still a shortage of blood more so in developing counties. Only 38% of the total blood collected is from the developing countries, where a staggering 82% of the world's population live. Several of these countries are dependent on paid donors.

According to WHO every person who is between 18 to 65 years of age and is in good health can donate blood. There are some basic points that you should keep in mind before donating blood.

• There should be sufficient iron in the donor’s body. Donating blood every 3 months keeps the amount of iron in the body in check
• The weight of the person should be at least 50 kg
• Desired donor cannot donate if he/she has cold, flu, stomach bugs, sore throat or any other infection
• The donor should not have diseases like Hepatitis B and C, HIV AIDS etc.
• A person cannot donate blood for 6 months after getting a tattoo or body piercing
• Do not donate blood for 24 hours after visiting a dentist for minor issues. In case of major dental treatment, wait for a month
• You must meet minimum hemoglobin level to donate blood
• Do not donate blood for a period of 12 months, if you engaged in a ‘at risk’ sexual activity
• You are not eligible to donate blood if you have ever injected recreational drugs
• You should not donate blood while pregnancy or the deferral period. You should not donate blood until your baby is dependent on breastfeeding. You are advised to donate blood only after your baby has been significantly weaned (i.e. the baby is consuming most of his/her nutrition from bottled milk or solids) for 3 months

If you are younger and wish to donate under special circumstances you should seek permission from your parents and speak to the doctor.

Normally it is about 56 days for whole blood donation. In men the recommended time period is 3 months and in women 4 months.

The recommended age limit is 55 years. But a fit and healthy person can donate up to even 60 years or above depending on the requirement.

The amount of blood withdrawn varies from 350ml- 450ml. It normally takes 24hrs for the blood volume to be replaced. And red cells get replaced in about 6 weeks.

No if you are in normal health there is no cause for concern. The chances of infections are minimum if you donate to a reputed lab as they take all the necessary precautions.

• Patient complains of shivering, nausea, vomiting and restless ness
• Pericardial and lumbar pain may occur
• Cold, clammy skin
• Cyanosis
• Pulse rate and respiratory rate increases
• Temperature rises to 38 to 40 deg C.
• Blood pressure decreases and the patient enters a state of shock.
• Sometimes complications can lead to death.

Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI),
Transfusion-Associated Sepsis (TAS) and Hemolytic
Transfusion Reactions (HTRs), are the other leading factors associated with ABT deaths.

The blood from the umbilical cord of a new-born baby is extracted and stored in a bank. This blood is rich in stem cells which is useful in the treatment of many diseases.

Yes you can donate blood regularly. Many blood banks depend on voluntary regular blood donor. Frequent blood donors have no health ill effects. If you are a frequent blood donor write to SOCIAL BLOOD and share your story with us.

You are often advised to donate blood to save lives. But whose life are you saving? Here are some of the people who may get a gift of life from your blood.

• People who have gone through emergency situations or disaster may need your blood
• People often loose blood during major surgeries and require external help
• People who are suffering from gastrointestinal bleed and have lost significant amount of blood
• Women with serious complications at the time of childbirth or pregnancy
• Diseases like thalassemia or sickle cell disease may cause diseases like severe anemia or cancer. Such patients need regular blood transfusions

Donating blood not only helps the patient, but also has a lot of health benefits for the donor. Some of the benefits are:

• Helps in controlling weight
• Keeps liver healthy
• Decreases the risk of cancer
• Maintains smooth blood circulation
• Burns calories
• Balances the level of iron in the body

It depends on why you are taking the antibiotics and it may also depend after doctor counselling.

There are no side effects of blood donation. The blood bank staff ensures that your blood donation is a good experience so as to make you a regular blood donor. There are a number of people who have donated more than 25-100 times in their entire lifetime.

No. We do not take blood from anyone under the influence of alcohol. This is because being intoxicated can affect your ability to understand and answer the donor questionnaire and declaration.

Anything that you normally eat at home. Eating a light snacks and having a soft drink before blood donation is sufficient.

• Confirmed Case: A confirmed case is a person with laboratory confirmation of SARS- COV-2 infection by RT-PCR Test, irrespective of clinical signs and symptoms. All Very mild/mild/pre-symptomatic/moderate/severe case must be deferred for 28 days after the discharge from the treating facility or 28 days after the end of home isolation.
• Contact History: Individuals should be deferred from donating blood for 28 days with the last possible close contact exposure to a person who is confirmed/suspected case of Covid-19 including those under quarantine.
• Travel history: Individuals should be deferred from donating blood for 28 days after the date of departure from a country with Covid-19 transmission in the community and areas as notified by the MoH&FW from time to time.

There has been no reported case of any one contracting corona virus during the blood donation or blood transfusion process.  Covid-19 is similar to Sars and Mers infection and the virus spreads through contact or aerosol route. Medical organizations and the WHO have encouraged healthy people to continue donating blood during the COVID-19 pandemic.