Recent studies suggest that 80 percent of people in the world are iron deficient, and 30 percent have anemia due to prolonged iron deficiency. For those who don’t know, anemia is a condition that happens when there are not enough healthy red blood cells in the bloodstream to carry oxygen. As a result, the person experiences fatigue, tiredness, irregular heartbeat, and pale skin.
To spread awareness and prevent harmful diseases caused by iron deficiency or other blood-related issues, we celebrate World Blood Donor Day. This special occasion highlights the valuable contribution of blood donors who play their part in keeping the world pulsating by saving millions of lives. The day reinforces the global call to donate blood as much as possible to contribute to better health.
In honor of the World Blood Donor Day, we have decided to enlighten you about the importance of your valuable contribution as well as the basic requirements by WHO for blood donations.
Why should you know about Blood Conditions?
When there is no healthy blood in your body to carry oxygen, it affects your overall health. This is the reason why you should be aware of your body condition and possible disorders you can be affected by due to blood deficiency.
Common Blood Disorders
When your body stops detoxifying blood, your chances of suffering blood conditions and blood cancers increase. Here is the list of common blood disorders you should be aware of.
Let’s discuss each of them in detail.
1. Anemia
As we said above, when your body lacks healthy red blood cells, it gets difficult for it to transport oxygen throughout the body as they carry iron and hemoglobin through the bloodstream to provide oxygen to all the organs.
Anemia affects 1.6 million population globally. Anemic patients don’t necessarily have pale skin or feel tired or cold. It’s just that their blood stops transmitting the necessary oxygen required by other organs to function properly. This is the reason why people with low blood HB often get refused to donate blood.
2. Hemophilia
Hemophilia is a genetic bleeding disorder in which the patient’s blood fails to clot properly. People with low levels of factor VIII (8) or factor IX (9) suffer hemophilia. These levels also determine the severity of the disorder. The greater the amount, the more possibility that bleeding will occur. The severe blood loss due to excessive bleeding leads to serious health implications.
As per the latest study,30,000 to 33,000 males in the United States suffer from hemophilia. In rare cases, some develop it later in life. Hemophiliacs require blood backups for emergency transfusion during medical procedures to overcome excessive blood loss.
3. Blood clots
Blood clots refer to serious conditions like thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Typically, in DVT, a patient develops a blood clot in any part of their lower body (ex; thig, leg or pelvis). When this blood clot is pushed to the upper part of the body near the lungs, it can cause blockage of arteries.
DVT or PE can occur in anybody and cause serious illness and death in severe cases. Thereby it is recommended to get your body checked routinely.
4. Leukemia
Leukemia is a kind of blood cancer that affects the body’s blood-forming tissues, including the lymphatics system and bone marrow. The disorder mainly involves white blood cells that fight potent infections in the body.
Leukemia treatment can be complex. However, some advanced technologies and treatments can help fight the disorder.
5. Lymphoma
Lymphoma is another type of blood cancer that develops in the Lymph system. There are two major types of it; Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The former one is curable.
According to 2020 data, around 83,087 developed Hodgkin lymphoma. People in their 60s are at a greater risk of developing non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. While Hodgkin develops in people aged 15 or more.
6. Myeloma
Myeloma is the cancer of blood plasma cells that make antibodies in the body to fight external threats. In Myeloma, the patient develops excessive cells in the bone marrow, crowding out normal cells. It can spread thought out the body.
It mostly develops in men post 45, and the exact cause of it is still unknown. In 2020, 176,404 people were diagnosed with Myeloma. While the condition is not completely curable, it can be prolonged through other treatments. Bone marrow transfusion is the common treatment for that in which bone marrow cells are extracted from a donor’s bloodstream.
All of the conditions we discussed above required blood transfusion for either direct or indirect use. That’s why World Blood Donor Day aims to spread awareness and urge people to donate blood to help the sufferers fight those life-threatening conditions.
WHO requirements for blood donation
Following are the basic requirements that donors must fulfill in order to donate blood.
- Age: 18 – 65: People below 18 can also donate, provided that they have consulted with their physician and fulfilled the rest of the requirements.
- Weight: minimum 50 kgs
- Health: you must be fit and good in health: People with cold, flu, stomach bug, sore throat or any other infection cannot donate. Also, individuals need to meet the minimum required hemoglobin level.
- Behaviors: An individual cannot donate blood if they were engaged in ‘at risk’ intercourse or any other sexual activity in the past 12 months.
- Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: the deferral period for pregnant and breastfeeding women is 9 months. They cannot donate blood during the pregnancy and breastfeeding period.
Conclusion
Blood transfusion and blood products save several lives every day. It reduces patients’ suffering from life-threatening conditions and helps them get through complex medical treatments.
So step up and make sure that everyone gets access to blood banks and blood donation agencies on this World Blood Donor Day. Also, ensure that nobody should fall short of blood supply in your area’s nearby facilities. Spread the word through your social handles and bring smiles to millions of faces.