Donation of blood is an excellent way of providing help for those in need and the society in general. It occurs when a person willingly agrees to have blood drawn from them for purposes of transfusion or manufacturing biopharmaceutical medicine. The donation may be of particular components of blood only or of blood itself. Anyone older than 16 years of age and with good health condition may become a donor (Donating Blood par. 1).
The benefits of blood donation do not only accrue to the receiver, but also to the donor. Thus, being ready and willing to donate blood forms an important part of our societal and humanitarian responsibilities.
The prime reason behind voluntary blood donation programs is to build a reserve of usable blood, which can be accessed whenever the need arises. It is not prudent to donate blood only during emergencies. Donation of blood in advance ensures that a continuous supply of blood is readily available for emergencies and other demanding circumstances.
Crisis-driven blood donation may lead to the transmission of diseases if the donated blood must to be used immediately. Additionally, during emergencies, donors may not reveal their true medical history and since there may be no time for the same. Similarly, there may be no time for screening the blood when the life of a patient is at stake.
The donation of blood under non-emergency cases ensures that all types of blood are in the bank. This proactive approach is aimed at saving the lives of individuals with rare blood types. It is quite challenging to seek a donor of a rare blood type during an emergency and the patient may end up dying prematurely if the required type of blood is not in the blood bank.
Furthermore, blood donation promotes cohesion. By donating one’s precious blood with full consciousness that it will run in another person’s veins, one expresses a deep level of love for humankind. It is a life-saving undertaking made by compassionate people and deserves to be emulated. One blood donation may be able to help up to three different patients in several ways (Why is it important for me to give blood? par. 3)
Another benefit of blood donation is that during the process, donors undergo a variety of tests, which serve the purpose of ensuring that the donated blood is safe. These tests also aid donors to know their health status, the donor’s blood pressure, temperature, hemoglobin level will be checked before the donation (Why Donate Blood? par. 4). Further, when blood is in the bank, it is possible to wait long enough to determine if there were any pre-mature viruses in the blood at the time of donation. If it turns out that any of the donors has a condition that they were not aware of, they can be informed and placed on medication early enough.
Moreover, research has shown that the donation of blood refreshes the donor. People do not remain blood deficient when they donate. Rather, their systems are replenished with new and fresh blood in no time. In addition, evidence shows that blood donation programs have helped to curtail Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Syphilis, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, as well as other life-threatening illnesses (Heath Benefits of Donating Blood, par. 8). Due to the research of blood the modern medicine is able to cure diseases that used to be deemed lethal some time ago, so the demand for blood increases constantly (Why is it important for me to give blood? par. 7).
In conclusion, it is evident that blood donation is important in many ways. Unfortunately, the number of blood recipients is much larger than the number of donors. Consequently, more campaigns and donor-awareness programs are necessary to ensure a constant supply of usable blood in banks. Instead of waiting for disaster to strike and then scramble to donate blood that may sometimes be used without proper screening, it is prudent to make a proactive commitment to donate blood voluntarily on a regular basis. This would help people to stay healthy while simultaneously saving the lives of others.
Works Cited
Donating Blood. CPBB. Web.
Heath Benefits of Donating Blood. OneBlood. Web.
Why Donate Blood. American Red Cross. 2015. Web.
Why is it important for me to give blood? Donarsang. Web.