Every few seconds, someone, somewhere, needs blood. Transfusion of blood and blood products helps save millions of lives every year. You can make a difference: Give Blood and make the world a healthier place!
Source: WHO
Access to safe blood is a key component of effective health care and voluntary donors are the basis of a safe blood supply. Developed countries with well-structured health systems and blood transfusion services based on voluntary blood donation are generally able to meet the demand for blood and blood products. Guidelines have reported significantly lower prevalences of markers of transfusion-transmissible infections among voluntary donors than among other types of donors, with the lowest rates being found among regular donors1. As voluntary donors are motivated by altruism rather than by financial or social pressure, they are more likely to meet the medical selection criteria for safe donors, to disclose any known possibility of risk exposure, and to donate blood regularly and at properly spaced intervals. However, many people in developing countries are faced with ignorance, misperceptions and fears about the blood donation process, which result in a limited number of voluntary donors. Such countries are challenged to find creative recruitment methods to combat misconceptions about blood donation and to motivate the public to donate.
As a member of the Moroccan association of Thalassemia and Hemoglobin disorders ( of the category of polytransfused patients that live on blood donations : major transfusion dependent cases need 1 transfusion each mounth), I can confirm that the fear and the confusion is dramaticly big. Specialy in my community.
This is due to lack of awarness compaigns. People are afraid to get contaminated while giving blood or that this practice can has negative effects on their health. Corporal weight is a major restriction: average weight people think they can t donate.
Rising awarness of benefits of blood donations and the big role it plays in maintaining a stable blood supply => Stable and safer ( adequate phenotype) polytransfused patients' management.
I'll address the main question: fear and/or confusion about donating blood.
Firstly there is the concern about the biblical "sin of Onan". Spilling the seed. Is this giving blood or masturbation? This is not clear from the various translations currently available.
Secondly there is the correct concern about the effect on the health of the donor.
The removal of 450 mLs of blood will be rapidly compensated by oral fluids and, if the the donor is rested in a semi-recumbent position for about 30 minutes, they should be able to walk out of the Collection Centre with no ill effects.
From all the currently-available evidence a donor will recover the 200 mg of iron contained in a standard unit of blood in about 8-10 weeks from dietary sources. In Australia we have decided to give donors a 10 day course of ferrous fumarate to speed this recovery.
Some of our most dedicated donors were becoming iron deficient (but not anaemic) without this supplementation. Non-anaemic tissue iron deficiency causes physical fatigue and neurol-cognitive problems. We don't want to trigger this in our altruistic donors.
So, like many of the apparently ill-founded fears in the community there is a real basis. They are all solvable.
So many factors are militating against smooth donation of blood most especially in poor resource or developing countries. The factors include societal, religious belief, financial ,Psycho-moral and several other myth. Poor awareness, fear of contamination via the procedure all contributed to serious confusion around blood donation. Adequate enlightenment, conscious political improve in well being and health security of individual and supposed donors as it applicable in some developing world could reduce or prevent such fear.
I do agree with you and thanks for nice sharing Dr. Opeyemi. Olufeyisola Adesina
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