Aqib Mushtaq
World Blood Donor Day is observed every year on 14th June. The purpose behind why the day is celebrated is to promote blood donation among people. The need for safe blood is universal. Safe blood is critical both for treatments and urgent interventions. It can help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions live longer and with a higher quality of life and supports complex medical and surgical procedures. Blood is also vital for treating the wounded during emergencies of all kinds (natural disasters, accidents, armed conflicts, etc.) and has an essential, life-saving role in maternal and neonatal care. Blood donation is not just about saving lives and helping humanity take a step forward with better health. This is also about you and the benefits you receive, merely out of the genuine act of donation. By donating blood, you are not only saving someone else’s life but also keeping your health right e.g:-
In patients prone to iron overload, blood donation prevents the accumulation of toxic quantities.
Donating blood may reduce the risk of heart disease for men.
A single blood donation can save upto three lives.
Donating blood may not only benefit the person who received the blood cells but may also improve the health of the donor.
Blood donation also burns the extra calories and reduces your cholesterol level.
After donating blood, the count of blood cells decreases in our body, which stimulates the bone marrow to produce new red blood cells in order to replenish the loss. So, it stimulates the production of new blood cells and refreshes the system.
There have been many pieces of research that have revealed that by donating blood, you remain physically and mentally healthy. That is why World Blood Donor Day is celebrated every year on 14 June. So that people get aware of donating blood. The best way to celebrate World Blood Donor Day is to go out and give blood! There’s a powerful need for blood of all types, and there’s rarely enough of it to go around. Just a single contribution now and then will help save lives, so get on out there and give! Finding a clinic in your local area is surprisingly easy. Usually, teams of medics will set up donor rooms where you can go to give blood with other volunteers. Before you donate, you’ll need to take a quiz to see if you qualify. After that, a nurse will test your blood to ensure that it is safe to withdraw a large quantity. Then, they will place a needle in your arm and remove around a pint. If you can’t give blood for whatever reason, that doesn’t prevent you from taking part in World Blood Donor Day. There are still plenty of things that you can do. You could, for instance, mark the occasion by updating your social media profile pictures to celebrate the event. Symbols and images can have a massive impact. If you live in an area that requires more blood, you could also go out canvassing on behalf of your local blood donation group. Often something as simple as posting leaflets through the doors of those in the local community can encourage people to come forward. World Blood Donor Day is, therefore, one of the most important public health events in the calendar. It affirms the hard work of those early blood transfusion pioneers and encourages people to get out and give!
(The author is a student B Sc Nursing at IUST Awantipora. Views are his own)
