In this part of the world, blood donation is not a topic that is very widely talked about and when it is talked about, the case is that more people have either not heard about or not donated blood for different reasons. Some of these reasons are the myths that surround blood donation and today, I’m sharing some of those myths and correcting some popular misconceptions in line with the World Blood Donor Day which was on the 14th of June.
For those who don’t know, blood donation is basically a safe and simple procedure that involves donation of one of the following blood products: whole blood, red blood cells, plasma, or platelets by a volunteer or with the permission of an authorised party.
According to an article written by Tim Newman on medicalnewstoday.com, some of those myths include:
1. Donating blood makes you sick: Even though doctors usually recommend a day’s rest and drinking of fluids after donating to prevent lightheadness, healthy people do not get less healthy after donating blood and that’s fact. Your blood volume takes an estimated 48 hours to return to normal — predominantly through an increase in plasma, and in the space of 4–8 weeks, your body replaces all of the lost red blood cells.
2. People on medication cannot donate blood: The truth of this is that individuals taking certain medications, including anticoagulants, antiplatelet medications, and some acne treatments, should not donate blood. Depending on your medication, you will need to speak to your doctor to see if your medications make you ineligible to donate.
3. Donating blood takes time: Different donation centres take varying amount of times for registration and processing, the process of donating blood itself only takes about 8–10 minutes. The American Red Cross explains that the “entire process takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes.”
4. Giving or receiving blood may lead to contracting infections: Needles used are usually new, sterilised only used once, so there is no chance of catching a bloodborne infection from donating blood and for receiving, you can only contracting an infection if the blood is infected which is rare as blood screenings are usually done on donated blood for a number of viruses and bacteria.
Others:
– People with piercings or tattoos cannot donate blood: Giving blood after a piercing is acceptable as long as the instruments used were used just once and are disposable but if not, potential donors have to wait 3 months if a piercing was performed using a reusable gun or any reusable instrument. Also it depends on the centre or hospital, as some don’t accept blood donors with piercings or tattoos of less than a year old.
– You can’t donate blood if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol: Not always true at all. Once you have a systolic blood pressure lower than 180 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure lower than 100 mm Hg, you can donate blood. Drugs for high blood pressure don’t make you ineligible to give blood. Also high blood cholesterol levels or taking drugs that reduce cholesterol levels do not stop you from donating.
– Vegetarians and vegans cannot be blood donors: This is another myth. Vegan and vegetarians can donate blood once they meet all of the health screening standards to donate blood. Some of these vegetarians/vegans do not have enough iron in their bodies which causes anaemia but donors are screened for anaemia and if anaemic, they’re not allowed to donate.
– There are already lots of blood donors: Unfortunately, this is not true at all. The shelf life of blood is very limited so maintenance of blood supplied is challenging. “Donated red blood cells must be used within 42 days. Donated platelets must be used within 5 days. Because of this, donated blood needs to be replenished constantly, and we are always looking for more volunteers to donate.”
– Research shows that only about one-third of the U.S. population are eligible to donate blood, and only about 3% of these potential donors adonated blood regularly. This is concerning when patients require a specific type of blood. Blood banks can sometimes have adequate supplies of one blood type and, at the same time, have a critical shortage of another type.”
So, confidently, I strongly recommend that you guys go read the article as it breaks down the popular myths around donating blood so you can actually have the boldness to go to a hospital and donate blood today.
