Safe Blood Starts with Me - libdoc.who.int - World Health Organization

ANNEX 2Questions and answers about donating blood“To give blood is a privilegeTo receive blood is a right”Thank you for thinkingabout blood donationDonation of blood is a gesture ofgoodwill and care for the fellowhuman beings. There is no gift morevaluable than a Gift of Blood, as it isactually a Gift of Life for the personwho receives it.Safe blood is blood that does notharm the donor, is free from infectionor other harmful agents, that neitherharms the recipient, and is used forthe benefit of the patient’s health andwell being.The slogan Safe Blood Starts WithMe denotes that it is me who is thedonor of safe blood. This unit of yourblood will save the life of more thanone patient. As a member of society,it is your responsibility to donateblood. You can go to the nearestgovernment approved blood centre,which is based on voluntary, nonremuneratedblood donation, andmake your significant contribution tosaving the life of a patient. Yourcontribution is extremely valuable.The following is a list of frequentlyasked questions with comprehensiveanswers about donating blood.Why should peopledonate blood?Safe blood saves lives. Every day,thousands of people would die ifothers did not donate their blood.Many people know someone whomight have died unless anotherperson had given them the gift oflife—safe blood. Most transfusionsare given to:— women to treat haemorrhage as acomplication of pregnancy— children with severe anaemia— accident victims— surgical and cancer patients.Worldwide, about 600,000 women dieof pregnancy-related causes everyyear. Approximately 25% of thesematernal deaths are associated withthe loss of blood. Many of these livescould be saved if enough safe bloodwas available.What is blood andwhat is it used for?The red liquid called blood iscomposed of several differentelements, each of which fulfils aparticular function. Blood can be usedwhole or can be separated into itsindividual components. These can beused for specific purposes so thateach unit of donated blood can beused for more than one patient.Whole blood is commonly used insome countries to treat the majorityof life-saving transfusionrequirements.Blood componentsRed cells are widely used to replaceblood loss caused by haemorrhage inchildbirth, during surgery and inaccidents. Red cell transfusion canalso be life-saving in certain types ofsevere anaemia.Platelets are very small cells thatare essential to blood clotting. If aperson’s platelet count is low, thismay lead to easy bruising and majorbleeding. Patients who haveleukaemia or bone marrow failureusually have very low platelet countsand need platelets to preserve theirblood clotting function.Plasma, the yellowish liquid in whichblood cells are suspended, is usuallyprocessed to produce vital bloodproducts:— Clotting factors, such as FactorVIII which enables haemo-philiacsto lead virtually normal lives— Immunoglobulins:• non-specific immunoglobulin,which is used to treat abnormalfunctions of the immune systemand to prevent hepatitis A• specific immunoglobulins, suchas anti-D immunoglobulin whichis used to prevent Rhesusdisease of the newborn118 ▲ WORLD HEALTH DAY ▼ SAFE BLOOD STARTS WITH ME