WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY, 14 June

World Blood Donor Day, is a day dedicated to "thanking and celebrating voluntary non-remunerated blood donors".  It occurs on June 14, the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the creator of the ABO blood group system, for which he won the Nobel Prize. The first day was held in 2005.

The theme of 2012 world blood donor day campaign, " very blood donor is a hero" focuses on the idea that evereyone of us can become a hero by giving blood.

One of the main goals of the World Blood Donor day is to ensure the availability of "safe blood" for transfusion.

Who can donate?

Donors must weigh at least 110 pounds (50k) and be at least 17 years old or 16 years old with written parental/guardian consent. During your donation appointment, you will complete a brief health questionaire to make sure blood donation is safe for you and the recipient of your blood.

What should you do before you donate?

Before donating, you should eat  a good meal and drink plenty of fluids.

What types of blood are there?

Our immune system does not damage cells in our bodies because it recognises that they are ours. If cells from someone else´s body are placed in our body, our immune system recognises that they are not ours, and destroys them. 

For most body cells there are lots of different markers (antigens) that tell our system that something does not belong in our body, but for red blood cells are only a few main antigens (A, B and Rh) on their surface.
There are only four main types of blood:
A (with antigen on the surface of the red blood cells, but not B)

B (with B antigen, but not A)
AB (with both A and B)
O (no A or B)

Some years ago, after studying Rhesus monkeys (whose blood is very similar to humans´), scientists discovered that some people had another antibody on their red blood cells while others did not. They called this the Rhesus factor, while others will be A Rh-, meaning they do not have the Rhesus factor. 

What are blood transfusions? 

Sometimes people need extra blood because they have lost more than the body can make in a short time or they are not making enough red blood cells (anaemia). In these cases, doctors can give blood from one person to another in what is called a transfusion.

This blood that somebody is given is "matched", so that it won´t be destroyed by their immune system.

Type A blood can go to anyone who has type A or AB.

Type B blood can go to anyone with B or AB.

AB blood can only go to a person with AB blood.

Type 0 blood can be given to anyone, so someone with that blood is called a "Universal donor"

But,

a person with type A can only take blood from someone with type A or 0.

Type B can only take blood from someone who is B or 0.

AB can receive blood from anyone. This is known as being a "universal receiver".

Type 0 can only receive blood from someone who is type 0.

Nowadays a lot of people give blood regularly to give to other people who need it because they have been injured, have an operation or are sick. Sometimes people who are going to have a big operation will have blood taken several weeks before the operation, so that they can get their own blood back if they need a transfusion. 

All blood donated is carefully examined to see that there are no diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV in it which could infect the person who will get.

Source: Children, Youth and Women´s health Service.

SAC South Australia

 

In a day like this, remember the importance of donating blood, we can help somebody who needs it, and one day we can need a donation too.