Give blood, give plasma, share life, and share often…

women’s health

Seeing a camp setup for blood donation at her institute for cancer patients, and getting inspired from her friend donating blood, Ayesha Kamran a university student, decided to donate her blood for a good cause as well. Her friend, Ifra Amin, says that saving lives is the biggest motivating factor for her, followed by the positive effects of blood donation on one’s health. You may be surprised to know that these two women represent a minority in our country because we are facing under-representation of women in blood donation. Some surveys from Europe show the opposite gender-gap where more young women are likely to donate than young men. In Pakistan, where the transfusion needs surpass the available blood, women can step forward to donate blood or plasma to help create a safe and sustainable supply.

June is the month that marks World Blood Donor Day. The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘Give blood, give plasma, share life, and share often’. Every single person can contribute by giving the valuable gift of blood or plasma, which is necessary for patients to receive life-saving treatment. Remember that many people with blood disorders such as thalassemia, some types of cancer, patients undergoing surgery, patients with trauma injuries in emergencies - all need blood transfusions. Therapies with plasma may need help with clotting, lung, autoimmune, genetic, and other conditions.

For plasma donation, your blood will be collected from your vein, a machine will separate plasma from the red blood cells, which will be collected in a bag and red blood cells will be returned to your vein using the same needle. There is no substitute for a healthy donor’s blood and for this reason, voluntary non-remunerated regular blood and plasma donations are critical in making possible universal access to blood for all those in need.

According to a few studies conducted in Pakistan, a huge difference has been observed in the ratio of female versus male blood donors. Some of the reasons include fear of blood loss and fainting. Even women who are ready to donate blood are mostly unable to donate due to low levels of haemoglobin and less than optimum weight required to give blood. Therefore, there is a need to raise awareness for encouraging willingness to donate along with information about eligibility criteria for blood donation.

Punjab Blood Transfusion Authority states the following criteria:

* Good general health.

* Age of 18 years or older but less than 60 years.

* Optimum weight.

* The minimum weight of donors should be 50 kg for a standard blood donation.

* Necessary blood volume calculation should be made for donors weighing less than 50 kg.

* Haemoglobin level of at least 12.5 g/dl.

* Have not donated blood in the last 3 months.

Specifically related to women, instructions include that you should not donate blood if you are having heavy menstrual flow. You should not donate blood in case of miscarriage in the last six months. You can donate blood six months after delivering a baby, and you can give blood when you are not breast-feeding.

Haemoglobin is a protein which is found in the red blood cells that carries oxygen around your body. Anaemia occurs when you do not have enough red blood cells or when your red blood cells do not function properly. It is diagnosed when a blood test shows a haemoglobin value of less than 13.5 gm/dl in men or less than 12.0 gm/dl in women. Common symptoms of low haemoglobin levels are: Tiredness and lack of energy, shortness of breath, noticeable heartbeats (heart palpitations) and pale skin.

Institutions that follow proper blood donation protocols will check your eligibility for donating blood by screening you before donation. Your blood will also be tested for a range of diseases such as malaria, hepatitis, syphilis and HIV to ensure patient safety. This may help in identifying unknown health issues, which could be the first step towards seeking treatment. In addition to identifying unknown health concerns, remember that giving blood is a life-saving action, which may also have a variety of benefits for the blood donor. Some of the benefits include having a sense of well-being by helping others: One unit of blood may save the lives of up to three people, which may boost your sense of wellbeing. According to a study, blood donation offers a protective effect on long-term, high-frequency blood donation against cardiovascular disease.

Even if your haemoglobin levels are low, seek medical advice. According to health experts, you can keep your haemoglobin levels healthy by having foods rich in iron. Eat more lean red meat, dark-green leafy vegetables, cereals and bread with extra iron in them (fortified), nuts (including peanut butter), whole grains such as brown rice, dried fruit, especially apricots and raisins, and pulses and beans. To help absorb iron from your food, you can have vitamin C with your meal to help your body absorb iron. You can have a glass of orange juice with your meal or eat vegetables rich in vitamin C (e.g. green peppers, cabbage, cauliflower or white potatoes.) Avoid tea or coffee around mealtimes as these reduce the amount of iron we absorb.

Some people understand that giving blood is good and needed but they remain hesitant to give because they do not know how to go about the process or how long it takes and some wait to be asked to give blood. The entire process from screening till finishing the blood donation of whole blood takes about one hour. According to one estimate, more than 8,000 units of blood are needed in our country each day, which means you do not have to wait for someone to invite you to give blood. You can simply identify institutions that require blood often and have safe processes in place, such as Sundas Foundation that treats thalassemia patients, Shaukat Khanum Hospitals that treat cancer patients, PKLI (Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute), Indus Hospital and others, then simply commit to donating regularly. You can donate again after a gap of at least three months. Donating blood is perhaps one of the easiest ways to save lives.

The writer is a LUMS alumna and a community social worker with special interest in public health, philosophy, and human rights.