Key points:
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Donating blood has multiple health benefits, such as balancing iron levels in the blood, reducing the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular accidents, among others.
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A donor can help up to 3 people with a single donation.
Altruistic blood donation is a solidarity action that helps save lives and keep many people with certain diseases healthy. Its importance lies in the need for hospitals to perform daily transfusions, some of the most recurrent cases for which the blood bank is used are:
- Women with obstetric complications such as ectopic pregnancies or bleeding before, during, or after childbirth.
- Children with severe anemia, often caused by malaria or malnutrition.
- People with serious injuries caused by accidents or natural disasters.
- Patients undergoing complex surgical and medical interventions.
- Cancer patients.
Currently and due to the pandemic, altruistic blood donations have decreased, so blood banks reserves are beginning to be affected. In addition to this, the constant need for regular donations exists because blood can only be stored for a limited time and then becomes unusable.
Your help as a regular donor is essential to guarantee the availability of blood when and where it is needed, since, despite the contingency, hospitals continue to attend to all kinds of emergencies daily, in which donation can become a fundamental part to save the life of one or more people.
How is donor blood used?
Donating blood is the most valuable gift we can give. The decision to donate blood can save a life or even several if the blood is separated into its components: red blood cells, platelets, and plasma since they can be used individually for patients with specific diseases.
A healthy person can restore donated blood in up to 60 days, which is why a donor can donate blood every 2 months.
At ABC Medical Center, blood donation is a procedure that can last approximately one-hour thanks to our safety and protection protocols, so our blood bank areas are free of Covid-19.
Benefits of donating blood
Few people know the benefits of altruistic donation. In addition to the satisfaction of helping those in need, donating blood has the following benefits:
- It offers information about our general health.
- Improves blood flow.
- Helps purify triglycerides.
- Reduces the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular accidents.
- It stimulates the production of new blood cells in the body.
- Balances iron levels in the blood.
You are not a candidate for donation if:
- You have symptoms and have cared for, been with, or lived with a person considered a probable, suspected, or confirmed COVID-19 case.
At ABC Medical Center we implement a rigorous security protocol in which we reconditioned all our areas so that you can donate blood with the peace of mind that you are free of COVID-19.
If you want to be a voluntary donor, review our process and requirements to donate blood. Check our requirements in our Blood Bank!
