What is World Blood Donor Day?
Today, June 14th, people worldwide celebrate and observe World Donor Day. The selfless act of donating blood and its profound impact on saving more lives. This event was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the importance of blood donations. To recognize the contribution of blood donors to saving lives while at the same time improving the quality of life. It also focuses on achieving universal access to safe blood transfusions. Today is an opportunity to celebrate and thank people actively donating blood as a precious gift to humanity—a selfless act. The slogan for this year is 20 years of celebrating giving: Thank you, blood donors! That is 20 years of unwavering support for blood donations and giving the gift of life.
The Importance of World Donor Day
Medical situations such as surgeries, trauma cases, chronic illnesses, and cancer treatments. Most often, these procedures require blood transfusions. Blood transfusions are a selfless act that saves millions of patients in those critical situations. Most countries face challenges in maintaining stability and safe blood supply. World Donor Day encourages more people to become regular donors to shed light on these challenges and mobilize efforts for a life-saving gift, blood.
Promoting Safe Blood Donation
The American Red Cross ensures safe blood donation for recipients and donors. They ensure that they follow the protocol of the blood donation process. As a donor, the first thing you will need to do is to register. Prepare to present your American Red Cross donor ID. If unavailable, you can present other IDs such as a driver's license, an Immigration and Naturalization Service card or green card, a state ID, an employee or student ID with a photo, or a military ID. After you successfully register, the person in charge will get your medical history. During the interview process, they’ll ask you if you are taking any medications or prescriptions. It also includes over-the-counter drugs that are inside your system. Let them know your blood type. After the interview process, they’ll check your body temperature, pulse rate, and blood pressure. They also take note of your hemoglobin level. Once you are all set and completing the first two steps, go to the extraction area to take a little pinch. It is now time to sit back and relax and for approximately two hours, you have already given away the gift of life.
Encourage the Humanity
Random acts of kindness will change the world. A cliche but true enough. World Blood Donor Day highlights the selfless act and solidarity of humanity. Time is an essence as the shelf life for blood has its limit. Continuous donations are necessary to ensure that hospitals and emergency services have a steady supply to meet their demands. Blood donation also transcends social and cultural boundaries. It builds empathy, and mutual aid, and promotes a sense of responsibility for the health and well-being of others.
The Gift of Life
Statistically, there are 118.5 million blood donations collected in the world. These numbers are coming from voluntary donors, family members, and paid donors. On a side note, some people refrain from donating blood due to misconceptions and fears. One of the common misconceptions is that if a person donates blood, they will have less blood. From a medical point of view, an adult human heart beats 100,000 times per day which is three billion beats in a lifetime. It produces 5.7 liters of blood throughout the day. The fact is, when the person donates blood, the person is given approximately 450ml. World Donor Day enlightens us with accurate information and a positive perception. Today, let us have courage and fight our fears to become regular donors to save more lives.
The Golden Blood
There are 8 blood groups and these are A+, A-, B+,B-,AB+,AB- O+,O-. In 1961, another blood type was discovered in an Aboriginal Australian woman wherein Rh is not present in her blood. This means that the person lacks 61 possible antigens. Out of billions of people in the world, there are less than 50 individuals who belong to this group and 9 of them are active donors. This blood group is named Golden Blood because of its rarity. They can be considered a universal donor as they can donate blood to all types but it is not suggested because it is rare to find. As a blood recipient, they can only receive blood with the same type, the Rh-null.
Conclusion
GoodLife Medical Center is thanking each and every individual who commits themselves to a selfless act to save more lives by sharing the gift of lifeblood. By honoring the current donors and encouraging the new individuals to be regular donors, the supplies remain sufficient to meet the global demand. As we celebrate World Donor Day, we are reminded to get an annual check-up to have a healthy body and be part of changing the world. The simple act of kindness will have a profound impact on bringing hope and giving the quality of life to countless individuals who need blood transfusions. To book your appointment for an annual check-up, you may visit our website at www.goodlifemed.com or you can click it here.
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