Abhishek Sharma
Today in the world of fast growth, with development, diseases also have come complementary. We cannot put a stop on them, but surely we can give a helping hand to handle them. Help doesn’t mean that one has to be a doctor; there are many other ways in which we can donate. Rather than complaining that the world is getting unhealthy every day, we should give the best we can to help it grow sustainably. After all, mankind is only the one which can help itself. Every person once or more comes across problems related to health and accidents too, which lead to loss of blood in the body. To cope with these problems blood from external source is very important, and there is only one external source, that is human body. Yes! There is no synthetic blood which can be used as an alternative, i.e. blood cannot be manufactured externally, except for the body. So keeping this in mind, every single person should be responsible enough, and take it as a duty to donate blood. Like, every year, this year too, Blood Donation Day was observed on June 14. Firstly, we should all know who can donate blood actually, i.e. the basic criteria of donating blood. Any person ranging from 18 yrs. – 65 yrs. can donate blood, but he should not himself be suffering from any blood related disease or on any kind of regular medication. His weight should be in a 10% range of his BMI, more weight can work, but underweight should consult a doctor before donating. The minimum haemoglobin acceptable for blood donation in males is 13g/Dl and for females it is 12.5g/Dl. If a person is suffering from some minor disease he should consult the doctor before the donation.
Secondly, there are a number of myths about blood donation, which are a big hurdle in this kind act, and act of donating smile; an act of donating life. People usually think that donating blood affects health in a negative way. They are partially right, donating blood does affect health but in a positive way, as the blood after sometime recycles itself inside the body and new blood is generated from time to time. Blood donation reduces the chances of hypertension or heart attacks. It maintains the blood thickness and blood level in the body, which results in a better health of the donor. So it is better to give away that blood to someone in need, which will go waste anyway. Donating blood hardly takes like 20-30 minutes which anyone can spare once in three months. The thought that your blood is saving someone gives immense satisfaction and it is a way one can feel happy, by knowing that he has done something noble and gave a helping hand in the growth of mankind.
Now, again a question arises that where can a person donate. There are many organisations, some governmental and some non-governmental, which from time to time organise blood donation camps; one can easily go there and donate. Also in the blood banks of any hospital, one can donate blood voluntarily which is even nobler. Voluntary donation is always better than donation done when a person has no other option than donating in exchange. Each person has a specific blood group (A+ve/-ve, B+ve/-ve, etc) that identifies who can donate to whom. Blood group, malaria, jaundice, syphilis, and AIDS tests are done before injecting that blood in a patient by the blood bank. Normally diseases are not found in blood of a true volunteer, because he donates for a noble cause and not in any kind of helplessness. So, that is why blood from a voluntary donor is considered to be safer than the blood donated by a person who gives for replacement.
Blood is the essence of life. It consists of red cells that transport oxygen, white cells that fight infections, platelets to help in blood clotting, and plasma that carries nutrients to the body. Blood is needed regularly for patients with diseases such as thalassemia and haemophilia, and also for the treatment of injuries after an accident, major surgeries, anaemia, etc.
It is a fact that every year in Delhi 6-7 lakh units of blood are in demand out of which hospitals are able to donate only 5.5 lakh units, and the difference created between demand and supply becomes really difficult to bridge. This gap can only be filled by regular voluntary donors. And again this can be done by removing the myths from the minds of people by creating awareness among them.
There should be knowledge of basic facts in every individual. Blood donation does not hurt as some people are scared by that thought too. Blood can be preserved for 35 days in blood banks, which is used before getting spoiled. No extra or special diet is needed after donation, as everything is absolutely normal in donation. Usually 350ml of blood is taken out from an individual.
No one wants or becomes a victim by choice, it just happens. As it can happen to anyone, we should take it as a duty and donate blood without any second thought. We cannot give God in return of this precious life, but we can Thank Him by helping others through blood donation. We should always keep in mind while thinking about blood donation, that we can be a receiver too someday. A person needs a big heart and free mind for blood donation and not money and strength, this is a real test of humanity, how much we can give to others if we expect something from them. So, let us all pledge to make this world a better place to live and generate an NGO within our self and help people and donate blood, and donate a life! So, not only India but to make the world a better place to live and keep healthy, we should pledge to go on promoting this noble act of blood donation and donate blood and spread awareness about it.
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