Dr. Ruth Varela Valencia
CIF Project Manager
Blood donation is an altruistic act, but unfortunately, not everyone can do it, since a series of basic requirements must be met, as well as other more specific ones. It is said that donating blood is donating life. The contribution of most blood donors is voluntary and disinterested, which saves human lives. There is a need to raise awareness of the need to donate blood regularly to ensure the quality, safety, and availability of blood and blood products for those in need.
In order to be a blood donor, first of all, you have to meet a series of basic requirements, which are:
- Be between 18 and 65 years of age.
- Weigh more than 50 kilos.
- Have good health.
The following conditions must also be met:
- Have normal blood pressure.
- Not having suffered infectious diseases such as: Hepatitis, HIV, malaria, etc.
- Not have had cancer.
- Not taking medications such as: Antibiotics.
- Do not consume drugs.
- Not having had a tattoo or piercing in the previous four months.
- Not having undergone surgical or endoscopic interventions in this same period of time.
- Having suffered some type of infection in the previous two weeks.
- Not having received a blood transfusion.
- Not having undergone a transplant.
(World Health Organization, 2017)
In any case, the health personnel who collect the blood will do some tests and some questions to find out if the donor/volunteer is in a position to make the donation and then proceed with the blood extraction; Subsequently, the blood that was extracted will be analyzed to rule out blood-borne diseases: Chagas, Hepatitis B and C, Syphilis, HIV and Brucellosis, among others.
The importance of donating blood lies in the fact that it can increase the life expectancy and quality of life of patients with potentially lethal diseases, as well as carry out complex medical and surgical procedures. They also play a fundamental role in maternal and child care, natural disasters and man-made disasters, as they save the lives of many people.
Remember that donating blood is not harmful to the body, since a donation bag collects 450 milliliters, which corresponds to 10% of your total blood volume; it is an amount that the body assumes without any problem when we are healthy and that does not cause any subsequent disorder. The body will regenerate it in a few days while it continues with its usual work. It is a safe process that is carried out under the responsibility of a medical team, all the material used must be sterile and single-use, therefore, the transmission of any type of disease during this process is impossible.
It is important to mention that there is a Mexican standard (NOM-253-SSA1-2012) that aims to establish the activities, criteria, strategies and operational techniques of the entire National Health System, in relation to the disposal of human blood and its components. for therapeutic purposes. This standard also contemplates the regulation of blood products, such as albumin, immunoglobulins, and coagulation factor concentrates, among others, obtained through physical-chemical or biological procedures. Through this rule, it is also possible to know how much time must elapse between one donation and another, which depends on the blood component.
In Mexico, the percentage of altruistic donors is 3% and the rest of the donors are called by replacement or relatives: that is, in the country, there is a prototype of Family and Non-altruistic Donation. Although it is true that the number of altruistic donors in our country increases every year, these are still very low, compared to countries where almost 100% of these are altruistic. It is important to emphasize that in Mexico a culture of altruistic donation is required and to remove taboos and atavisms around altruistic donation (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, 2016).
Join the call to donate blood altruistically. Come to your clinic.
REFERENCES
Mexican Institute of Social Security (2016). Importance of the Blood Bank, National Altruistic Donation Week. Taken from http://www.imss.gob.mx/salud-en-linea/donacion-sangre
World Health Organization (2017). 10 facts about blood transfusions. Taken from https://www.who.int/features/factfiles/blood_transfusion/es/
