Blood donation is risk-free to the donor
What will happen if a person donates 200ml blood? According to blood physiology,
the weight of the blood within a person accounts for 8% of the body weight, and the
200ml donated by an average adult with 4000-5000ml of blood only amounts to
4%-5% of his or her total blood, while in clinical medicine, for anyone whose
blood loss is less than 600 ml it is unnecessary to get transfusion, and as a result
donating 200ml of blood is totally risk-free for an average adult.
Not all blood within the human body is circulating in the blood vessel, because
20%-25% of the whole blood is stored in such reservoirs as spleen, which is the
largest one with the capability to store 20% of the whole blood, liver, lung and skin.
When blood is in demand for the circulation of a person, continuous supply will be
provided by such blood reservoir as spleen to meet the demand. Consequently the
blood circulation of the donor is not impaired by his or her donation of 200ml blood,
and therefore it is impossible that his or her health is at risk after the donation. The
metabolism of the components of the blood is very active, because 1/120 of the red
cells (which amount to 2 billion) decline and die every day, the average life span of
white cell is from 7 to 14 days, and that of the platelet is only from 7 to 9 days.
Furthermore, the restoration power of the human marrow is very strong, and under
certain circumstance the blood-making power of the marrow can be stimulated to 6-8
times of the normal capability. For a healthy person, the 200 billion red cells and 120
billion platelets are produced within the body every day; that is to say, the blood cells
produced every year amounts to the total number of the blood cells. As a result, the
health of the donor, whose blood cells of will be restored very rapidly after the
donation of 200ml blood, is therefore not impaired.
the advantages of blood donation
It is proven by a lot of scientific study that blood donation is salubrious to the donor.
First, it can prevent and alleviate the disease of the high-viscidity blood.
Second, it can prevent and reduce the incidence of heart, brain and blood vessel
diseases.
Third, it can lower the incidence of cancer for male donor.
Fourth, it can boost and improve the psychological health of the donor.
Finally, it can prolong the life expectancy of the donor.
The eligibility of the blood donor
The health standard applied to the blood donor is stipulated in the second
administrative order of Sep. 1998 by the ministry of health as follows:
First, the age of the donor should be between 18 to 55.
Second, the weight for male should be higher than or equal to 50kg, while the weight
for female should be higher than or equal to 45kg.
blood pressure： 12-20/8-12kPa， the difference between systolic pressure and
diastolic pressure：≥4kPa or, 90mmHg-140mmHg/60mmHg-90mmHg ;
≥
30mmHg.
Fourth, the pulse should be 60-100 times per minute, but for athlete with high
stamina the pulse should be higher than or equal to 50 times per second.
Fifth, the blood temperature should be normal.
Sixth, the skin should be free from pathological infection, large area of dermatosis,
swollen lymph nodes.
Seventh, the five sense organs should be free from severe diseases, swollen thyroid
gland
Eighth, the limbs should be from severe deformity, functional disorder and swollen
joint.
Ninth,(with respect to the bosom) the heart and lung should be functioning
normally(physiological cacophony of the heart can be regarded as normal).
Tenth, (with respect to the abdomen), the abdomen should be soft and flat, also free
from bump, pain when pressed, and swollen liver or spleen.
Any citizen who meets the above conditions is eligible for blood donation.
The kinds of blood tests a blood donor should pass.
First, filtering for blood proportion using bluestone method: for male the test result
should be higher than 1.052, while for female the test result should be higher than
1.050.
Second, testing the blood type: for ABO system the blood type must match positively
and negatively. If possible, Rh（D）blood type testing should be taken in the region
with high frequency of Rh negative.
Third, testing of the functioning liver: if the vigor of Alanine Aminotransferase is the
criteria, the testing result by Lai method should be lower than 25. If the blood donor
can not pass this test, then he or she should be ineligible for the donation. However, it
doesn’t mean that the donor has liver problems.
Fourth, testing infectious disease of blood includes testing hepatitis B surface antigen,
hepatitis C antibody, HIV antibody and syphilis serology. If the testing result is
positive, the donor is ineligible.
The steps of blood donation:
The first step is donor registration: to register, please bring the ID card or other valid
certificate such as the certificate of military officer, soldier, visa or driver’s license
with ID number.
The second step is to wait for the donation: because of the concentration of blood
donors, the donor has to wait patiently which is inevitable because donation can only
be done one by one, and it is recommended that the donor bring magazines , books or
newspapers to keep engaged.
The third step is to scrub the arm and hand. If the arm and hand is dirty, it can result in
the infection of the piercing place of the donor and the contamination of the blood.
Please scrub carefully.
The fourth step is to disinfect with Iodine tincture: it is cautioned that the disinfected
position should not be touched.
The fifth step is the check prior to the blood collection: please answer such questions
by the blood collector as “what is your name”and “what is your blood type”.
The sixth step is blood collection: please recline on the chair for blood collection,
maintain a leaning posture, and close on your fist prior to the piercing; once the
needle is pierced into the vein, the fist should first close on and later release until the
blood collection is over.
The final step is to stanch: please hold the stanching tampon for at least 5 minutes
after the completion of the blood collection, and please don’t twist the tampon in case
of hematoma under the skin.
The cautions that should be taken after the donation.
First, the donor should protect the piercing position carefully: because stanching
doesn’t mean its complete concrescence, it is recommended that it shouldn’t be
soaked into water, stained by dirty articles, and moreover rubbed with hands.
Second, the donor shouldn’t be engaged in inappropriate activities within the
donation day such as high altitude operation, high temperature operation, driving
vehicles, sports tournament and overnight entertainment.
Finally, excessive nutrition isn’t good to the donor: such nutritious foods as fresh
fruits, vegetables, bean products, dairy products and fresh fish, shrimp, meat and egg
are fine. Please don’t take these foods excessively.
Will blood donation lead to anemia?
As long as the donor participate the donation within the prescribed time period,
anemia can’t occur after the donation. Because blood donation only reduce the
regenerative blood temporarily and the normal blood regeneration isn’t impaired, the
small amount of blood donated can be restored very quickly. Since anemia is a disease,
and those with it are found during the blood tests, they are ineligible for blood
donation. So blood donation doesn’t lead to anemia, while on the contrary, regular
donations can stimulate and strengthen the blood-making organs, thereby their
functioning enhanced, to the advantage of the regeneration of the white cells.
Why a few donor may have adverse impacts of blood donation?
Among those who donate their blood for the first time, a few may experience the
fleeting symptoms of giddiness and bewilderment, namely, flustering, fainting, pallor,
nausea, and so on, then sweating, later the face turning ruddy. All the donors with the
above experiences are safe after appropriate nursing.
There are many factors to account for it such as lack of physiological knowledge of
the blood donation which can lead to spiritual strain, psychological reason, namely,
having the same feeling after viewing others fainted, inadequate sleep, and fatigue and
weariness before donation.
What is collecting blood components through an instrument?
Donating blood components through an instrument means that a healthy citizen
donates one blood component voluntarily through Apheresis Machine. The
component donated may be platelets, corpuscles or stem cells in periphery blood, the
most common being platelets collection through Apheresis Machine.
The requirement and condition for donating blood component through an
instrument:
Blood component collection through an instrument, which requires special device and
place, is carried out at blood center or station with good fame, normally in order to
meeting the clinical demand, and therefore the donor has to wait for the reservation
notice of the blood center after he have filled the registration form for the donation
of blood component.
The eligibility of the blood donor also applies to the donor of platelet, and he or she
has to pass health examinations and tests. The donor should have adequate sleep the
day before the donation, and shouldn’t have eaten greasy food, drunk alcohol during
the last dinner, and what is more, he or she haven’t taken Aspirin within a week.
Platelet of the donor should be also counted before the donation. Because the blood
vessel located in the male donor’s elbow is more favorable to be pierced into, he
is more welcome to be a donor of component blood.
The basic requirements for donating blood component through an instrument are as
follows: first, the donor should have the experience of blood donation with normal
testing results; second, the donor weighs at least 50kg, and is younger than 55 and
older than 18;third, the blood vessel on his or her arm is quite patent and his or her
piercing history is favorable; finally, the donor should be available for donation which
needs approximately 3 hours at the provincial blood center.
What will happen to the health of the donor after the donation of the blood
component?
Currently the blood component collected through an instrument which is needed most
in clinical medicine is the platelet. A healthy person has abundant platelets and the
restoration of the platelets donated can be within 48 hours, which is much faster than
that of the blood donation. Consequently the donor can donate every half-month, but
12 is the upper limit for a year.
During the process of blood component donation, the donor’s blood is circulating and
separated in the hermetical pipe knots which have been strictly disinfected, and the
knots used by every donor is new and used only once, which means it is impossible
for cross contamination to happen.