Blood Donation : Gifting life to other people.
Blood is one of the essential fluid in our body, which helps the body to function smoothly. Blood Donation is an act of donating healthy blood to needy people. Due to excessive loss of blood, a person may die. Therefore, we can say that blood donation is an act of saving lives.
14th June is celebrated all over the globe as Blood Donor Day, where people all over the world, engage in spreading about this life-saving act. Many blood donation camps are held on that day, and millions of people across the globe actively participate in the program.
Educating people about blood donations is necessary. WHO organizes a campaign where people who are in the age group between 17 to 66 and weighing more than 50 kilograms are invited to donate their blood. The blood donors contribute to making the earth a better place to live in.
Blood donation is beneficial in many ways, such as if a person is severely ill or has met an accident where he lost a considerable amount of blood; the donated blood comes into play, which helps the patient to recover gradually.
Moreover, donating blood revitalizes our body as after donating blood, fresh blood is produced that refreshes our body system.
There are blood banks where people can store their blood, and during any medical emergency, that stored blood comes into play. People who have rare blood groups are suggested to store their blood in blood banks for their future use. The requirement for blood is always higher than compared to the supply, and people should be encouraged more so that they willingly donate blood and save lives.
There are generally four different blood groups, namely, A, B, O, and AB. While donating blood, this is not the only factor that has to be kept in mind. There is another factor called the “Rhesus Factor” which determines whether our blood is rhesus positive or rhesus negative. O –ve is considered to be one of the rarest blood groups. The people with O -ve blood group are called “Universal Donors” as their blood lacks A and B antigens and also is devoid of the Rhesus factor.
So, anyone can receive O –ve blood. On the other hand, people with AB blood group are called “Universal Recipient” as their blood lacks A and B antibodies to fight the A and B antigens; therefore, one with the AB blood group can receive blood from any other blood groups. There are many more factors that are to be considered during blood transfusion because if there is any mismatch in the combination, the situation can be fatal.
Blood transfusion is not only needed for accident cases. People suffering from thalassemia and going through dialysis need blood transfusion on a regular basis.
Nowadays, many public awareness programs and blood donation camps are held in many colleges, clubs etc. to update the bloodstock in the blood banks. There is always a shortage in the supply of blood, and we need to make sure that the blood supply never runs out.
