the donation of blood it is a solidarity act which can save many lives and is therefore also an act of love the next. Such action ensures that blood is available to people who need to, for example, perform transplants, transfusions after serious accidents and major surgeries. In addition to being fundamental for people who have serious chronic diseases, like the disease sickle cell, which often require blood transfusions.
The process is relatively quick and simple. O total procedure of donation, including interview and collection, lasts less than an hour. In each donation, the maximum amount of blood taken is 450 ml, it is important to remember that each person has about five liters of blood. Therefore, the volume removed is quite small. Still: the donated volume is replaced within one day by our body.
Next, we'll talk more about this important act, which is quick, safe and essential to help others.
Read too: bone marrow donation
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→ who can donate
The donation is a safe and simple process that does not pose risks to the donor. However, this does not mean that everyone can do it. To be a giver, a person must obey some basic requirements, such as:
Be between 16 and 69 years of age. (Children under 18 can only donate with formal authorization from their guardians, and people aged between 60 and 69 can only make a donation if they have already donated before the age of 60.)
Have a minimum weight of 50 kg.
Having eaten on the day, that is, the donor must not be fasting. (If the donation is made after lunch, you must wait a period of two hours after this meal. It is also important to avoid fatty foods during the three hours prior to making the donation.)
Have slept well. It is recommended that the donor has slept at least six hours in the past 24 hours.
Have a photo identification document issued by an official body.
→ Screening steps
Blood received as a donation will undergo several tests before being stored.
To donate blood, donors underwent a screening that includes three basic steps:
Donor registration: At this stage, the donor will be registered. Information such as name, date of birth, marital status and birthplace will be noted. For this step it is essential to present identification document.
Clinical Screening: In this screening, a clinical assessment of the patient will be made through the analysis of their health status and also an individual and confidential interview. The information obtained in this screening is important to assess whether that person has, for example, chances of transmitting any disease to the recipient. This is because the blood can be contaminated and give a false negative result in people who have recently been infected with some disease. Therefore, it is important to assess the presence of some donor risk behaviors.
Serological screening: At this stage, laboratory tests are performed on the blood that was collected from the donor. These tests are essential to determine whether or not the blood can be used for donation.
Did you know that donated blood is tested for various infectious diseases such as Hepatitis, Syphilis, HIV contamination and Chagas disease? |
Read too: AIDS treatment and cure
→ who cannot donate
Some people are barred from donating blood. According to the Ministry of Health, temporary impediments they are:
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Temporary Impediments for Blood Donation (Information from the Ministry of Health*) |
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Some people have temporary impediments to blood donation.
Also according to the Ministry of Health, they are definitive impediments:
Having experienced hepatitis after 11 years of age;
Clinical or laboratory evidence of the following blood-borne diseases: Hepatitis B and Ç, AIDS (HIV virus), diseases associated with HTLV I and II viruses, and Chagas disease;
Use of drugs illicit injectables;
Malaria.
→ Tattoo and donation
Tattooing is a temporary impediment to blood donation. In other words, after some time, a tattooed person can do it. The recommendation is to wait at least a year for the act. However, this criterion varies according to the place where the donation will be made, it is essential to consult the criteria adopted by this.
The temporary impediment of the donation happens due to the fact that during the realization of the tattoo the person may have acquired some disease, which may not yet show up in laboratory tests specific. is called immune window the period between exposure to the disease-causing agent and the appearance of a positive sign in laboratory tests.
If a donation occurs during this period, it may result in a false negative test, which could lead to contamination of the recipient. Thus, it is essential to emphasize the importance of never omit information during the screening interview.
→ How to proceed after donation
Despite being a simple procedure, it is important to take some care after blood donation. At main recommendations after blood donation are:
Increase fluid intake;
Do not smoke for approximately 2 hours;
Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages for 12 hours;
Do not make excessive physical efforts for at least 12 hours;
Keep the dressing in place for at least four hours.
Did you know that donating blood does not thicken or thin the blood? |
Read too:Organs that can be donated while alive
*To access the Ministry of Health Portal where are the cited information, Click here.
By Ma. Vanessa Sardinha dos Santos
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SANTOS, Vanessa Sardinha dos. "Blood donation"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/saude/doacao-sangue.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
