Is blood donation for everyone?

MANILA, Philippines — It is in giving that we receive. Take the case of donating blood.

When it comes to doing good for one’s neighbor, nothing compares to it. The donor gives part of himself — his own blood — without getting anything monetary in return.  

But the rewards are priceless.

“I think donating blood is the highest form of giving. You give your very own living cells,” says Dr. Pedrito Tagayuna, head of The Medical City (TMC) Blood Bank and Transfusion Services.

 The joy one gets from knowing that another person can see another sunrise, and spend more time with his loved ones — because of life-giving blood — is something money can’t buy.    

Blood donating is also a godsend for people who have no time for regular workouts. That is because donating a pint (450 ml) of blood burns a whopping 650 calories in the donor’s body. What better fitness regimen can you get?

Blood donation is not only for the young. Healthy elderly people feel recharged when they give blood regularly.

Why aren’t blood donors paid for parting with a precious part of themselves?

Safety is the biggest reason.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the safest blood donors are non-remunerated volunteers from low-risk populations.

Low-risk means freedom from contagious illnesses like HIV, hepatitis B and C, malaria, syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases.  

This way, the donor and his family are sure the blood they receive of is safe and healthy.

“We have a machine that detects the presence of HIV,” says Dr. Tagayuna. The machine is costly.  But it can detect the presence of HIV in 11 days (other health facilities do so in 21 days).

Even then, he warns that someone with HIV can infect another person in less than 11 days, so it is best to refrain from donating blood if one suspects infection with the virus. 

This is why every potential blood donor at TMC must undergo a risk assessment tool that asks a set of questions he must answer honestly.  The questions cover a lot of things. Besides a person’s sexual activities, it touches on a person’s health condition — the absence or presence of disease that could worsen, even kill him if he donates blood.  

It also delves into a potential blood donor’s medical history — the date of his latest appendectomy or other operation, tooth extraction procedure, blood transfusion and acupuncture.  Information on the presence of tattoos and body-piercing procedures, along with the dates these were performed, are just as vital.

“We require a one-year gap from any invasive procedure, appendectomy, blood transfusion, blood piercing and acupuncture, and blood donation,” shares Dr. Tagayuna.  “We want to make sure the donor hasn’t caught any infection from needles and other sources.”

He adds that relatives are discouraged from donating blood for their loved ones because they may hide crucial information that could affect the blood donation results. A husband may hide his sexual dalliances from his pregnant wife. A child pressured to donate blood to his ailing father may deny the fact that he or she has a contagious disease.

With these and other risk factors taken care of, the road is clear for those aged 16 to 65 who want to donate blood (minors need parental consent).  Weight requirement is at least 50 kg or 110 lbs. for every 450-ml. donation, and the pulse rate must be between 60 to 100 beats per minute.

Dr. Tagayuna lists other musts.  A blood donor must not smoke before giving blood, and must stay away from fatty meals, since these may raise blood pressure and lead to poor blood quality, respectively.

“A fatty meal makes it hard for us to separate the blood plasma. The results are not that good,” he explains.

He also advises blood donors to drink one glass of water before giving blood since they lose some water in their blood plasma.

Once the screening and blood donation is done, Dr. Tagayuna advises donors to drink another glass of water to replace that which has been lost in their blood plasma.

Based on the same principle, the blood donor shouldn’t drink beer after the donation and engage in sweat-inducing exercise since these will lower his body’s water content even further.

Dr. Tagayuna says the blood donor can resume his normal activities if he feels well. But driving heavy vehicles, operating heavy equipment, flying a plane and climbing trees are not allowed.  They may cause dizziness and endanger the person’s safety.

All these prove that blood donation isn’t for everyone. But those cut out for it are lucky.  They have the privilege of helping and sharing what they have — and getting rewarded with the rare chance of extending another person’s life. It is something worth its weight in gold.