Know Your Blood Group

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Blood is grouped into four types: A, B, AB, and O. Each Type is also classified by an Rh factor: Either positive (+) or negative (-).

When a blood transfusion is necessary, donor and patient blood must be compatible. If not, the patient’s body will react to the incompatible donor cells, leading to complications, maybe even death. Your ABO blood grouping and Rh factor are inherited from your parents.

Following are the Blood Groups

* O Positive
* O Negative
* A Positive
* A Negative
* B Positive
* B Negative
* AB Positive
* AB Negative

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Blood Group O (Universal Donor)

O Negative : As an O negative donor, we have a great need for your whole blood donations. This type is uncommon – only 6 percent of the population is O negative. O negative patients should receive blood only from O negative donors.

People with every other blood type can safely be transfused with O negative blood. This is usually done in an extreme emergency, before their own blood types can be determined.

O Positive : As an O positive whole donor, it is of great help in donation. This type is the most common – nearly 40 percent of the population is O positive. It is in greatest demand.

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The Most Common Reasons For Not Being Able To Give Blood

Temporary Reasons

* Not feeling well for any reason, until symptoms are over.
* Cold, sore throat, respiratory infection, flu, until symptoms are over.
* Difficulty of breathing, shortness of breath, asthma, no difficulty breathing on day of donation.
* Antibiotics, two days after treatment is over if taken for infection.
* Blood transfusion, one year after receiving blood.
* Full–term pregnancy, six weeks after delivery.
* Abortion or miscarriage, six weeks if after the first trimester (12 weeks).
* Surgery, serious injury, when healing is completed.
* Dental work, seventy–two hours after root canal or after extraction of tooth.
* Sexually transmitted disease: Venereal disease, chlamydia, genital herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea.
* Have had sex with a male or female prostitute within the past twelve months..
* Open–heart surgery, three years after surgery.
* Measles, mumps, chicken pox, three weeks from day of exposure.
* Tuberculosis (T.B.), two years after completion of treatment.
* Aspirin.
* Sniffed cocaine or any other restricted drugs within last 12 months.
* A woman who is menstruating, (safer to donate a week after it).

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Please do not give blood if you

* Have used narcotic drugs by intravenous route (injecting directly in the vein), even once.
* If you are suffering from conditions like hemophilia , Thallasemia or any other blood disorder.
* Had a positive antibody test for HIV (AIDS virus).
* If you are a commercial sex worker.
* Have had hepatitis any time after your eleventh birthday.
* Have had cancer.
* Have multiple sclerosis.
* If ever had myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass surgery.
* Have had a stroke.
* Have had Chagas disease.

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Who is eligible to give blood?
You can give blood only if you are healthy, at least 17 years old, and weigh at least 50 kg and have not donated in the past 8 weeks, are not currently taking antibiotics or insulin and your Hemoglobin is 100 % (Male – 14.5gm %, Female – 13.5gm %). You can donate blood if you do not have AIDS.

Is it safe to give blood?
Each time you donate blood the needle used in the procedure should be sterile and should be disposed off after single use. Thus the possibility of contracting AIDS is decreased while donating Blood.

How often can I donate blood?
People in good health who weigh at least 50 kg can donate a unit of blood as often as every eight weeks.

What happens when I donate?
A brief interview is taken of the donor. You’ll be asked about your medical history and current health. Temperature, blood pressure, pulse and hemoglobin level are checked.

Does it hurt?
No more than a slight pinch. You should feel fine after you donate but, some people get a little dizzy so be careful. After donating, you may resume your usual routine.

How long will it take to donate?
The entire process takes less than an hour and the actual blood donation usually takes about 15 minutes.

Where can I go to donate blood?
There are many places where donations can be made. People can also donate at community blood centers and hospital–based donor centers. Many people donate blood at “Blood donation camps”, held in their vicinity.

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Can I donate blood for myself, or ask others to donate for me?
Yes, if you are planning elective surgery and are healthy enough to donate blood, you may be able to donate blood for your own use. This is called an autologous donation. Some people planning elective, non–emergency surgery prefer to receive blood donated by relatives, friends or co–workers (directed donations), although there is no evidence these donations are safer than the community blood supply.

What is plateletpheresis?
Although most blood is donated as whole blood, it is also possible to donate only a portion of blood using a technique called apheresis. Blood is drawn from the vein of a donor into an apheresis instrument, which separates the blood into different portions by centrifugation. By appropriately adjusting the instrument, a selected portion of the blood, such as the platelets, can be recovered, while the rest of the blood is returned to the donor either into the same vein or into a vein in the other arm. This process takes more time than whole blood donation, but the yield of platelets is much greater.

Platelets collected by apheresis are particularly useful for patients who require numerous platelet transfusions, for example cancer patients who have received chemotherapy.

What is the Difference Between the Collection of Whole Blood and the Collection of Plasma?
Most of the whole blood collected is separated into components, red blood cells, platelets, plasma and other clotting factors.

Plasma, the fluid in which red blood cells, platelets and other clotting factors are suspended, is collected by apheresis. For this process, whole blood is drawn, plasma is removed and the red blood cells are transfused back into the donor. This plasma collection process takes one to two hours to complete.