Requirements for donating blood and procedures

blood is a biological component that cannot be produced in a laboratory nor does it have any synthetic equivalent. The only way we have to obtain blood is through donations altruistic of people. It is regulated so that an act is treated voluntary, free, anonymous, altruistic and responsible. Also, blood cannot be kept for long, so there is always a need for new donations. Of all donated blood, a large part goes to cancer patients, surgical operations and chronic transplant patients. But it is also intended for people who have anemia or women in obstetric and gynecological procedures.

Requirements to be a blood donor

To be a candidate to donate blood, certain minimum requirements must be met:

• Be between 18 and 65 years old.
• Weigh more than 50 kg.
• More than two months have passed since the last donation.
• The 4 annual donations have not been exceeded in the case of men or 3 in women.

When can you not donate blood?

There are some situations that prevent being a blood donor:

• Suffer communicable diseases through the blood (HIV, hepatitis B or C, syphilis).
• To have consumed drugs intravenously or intramuscularly at some point.
• To be diabetic insulin dependent.
• To be epileptic or suffer some serious illness cardiac, hepatic, renal, respiratory, thyroid, digestive, neurological, oncological, hematological or infectious.

How is the donation made?

If the requirements are met, a questionnaire should be filled out before the to see if the patient is suitable for donation. The questionnaire asks about:

• Consumption of certain medications
• Recent infection or dental intervention
• Has any vaccination been received
• An invasive examination has been carried out (colonoscopy, gastroscopy)
• Acupuncture
• Recent tattoo or piercing
• Travel to potential blood-borne disease risk areas

Then the doctor If these constants are correct and the hemoglobin is greater than 8 g / dl, you can donate blood with confidence.

• blood pressure
• heart rate
• Oxygen saturation
• Estimation of hemoglobin in blood.

With each donation some 450 ml of blood and the whole process does not involve more than 10 minutes. After the extraction, the donor remains for a few minutes under observation to drink fluids and have a glucose intake.