Blood transfusion is a completely ordinary process; today it is something that can save.

Story

For many centuries, people knew nothing about this procedure; only in the 17th century was a blood transfusion from a sheep to a person first arranged. But such experiments led to fatalities. It was only in 1818 that Dr. Blundell was able to make a successful transfusion from person to person. He saved a woman who had just given birth. Since 1900, donation has become something that saves life, because it was then that blood groups were discovered. And for more than a century, healthy donation has saved millions of lives: premature babies, sick people, soldiers and accident victims. This is noble and necessary.

But can everyone be a donor? Are there rules and diet when donating blood? Is it possible to make money from donation and how does the state protect donors? We'll talk about all this further.

Who can donate blood

Every person over 18 and up to 60 can become a donor. The weight of such a citizen is more than 50 kilograms.

The donor must be absolutely mentally healthy person who are responsible for their actions and understand that they are donating blood.

A person donating blood must first of all decide for himself why he is doing this and understand that this is a voluntary and important matter.

A person must be healthy, otherwise it can harm both the donor himself and those patients to whom his blood will be transfused.

If a person is going to become a donor and save someone’s life, the most important conditions for this are: adulthood, normal weight and good health.

Who cannot become a donor

Sick people are a taboo for donating blood. This applies to both physical and mental illnesses. All impossibilities to donate blood can be divided into absolute, those that do not allow you to be a donor throughout your life, and temporary, the duration of which is limited by a specific reason.

Absolute diseases are incurable diseases, oncology, chronic purulent diseases, asthma, tuberculosis, infectious diseases blood, absence of one kidney, spleen.

Before taking the test, tests for major diseases are required. If one of them is detected, the person is removed from the donation procedure. Former drug addicts and alcoholics, even if they have no data and similar diseases, become donors with caution. Such people are a risk, so donating them is enough controversial issue. In any case, they will be examined more thoroughly.

Temporary reasons for refusing to donate to a person are as follows:

• Operations, abortions – 6 months.
• Piercing, tattoos, acupuncture – 1 year.
• Staying abroad for more than 60 days means you will not be able to donate for 6 months.
• If a person has visited countries with a humid tropical climate, 36 months must pass before donation.
• After typhoid fever– 3 years.
• Acute respiratory diseases– only 1 month.
• After inflammation and allergies – 1 and 2 months.
• Blood cannot be donated until a year after birth, and only three months after the breastfeeding period has ended.
• After 5 days my period ended.
• The period of withdrawal from donation after vaccination ranges from 10 days to 1 year.
• After taking antibiotics, 1 month should pass, and regular medications– 3 days.
• After drinking alcohol, donation is prohibited for 2 days.

If the blood tests are bad, but the person does not suffer from any diseases, it is possible to become a donor after the test results are good. Usually this is a month.

Basic rules of donation

If a person decides to donate blood once or do it constantly, he must first of all lead a healthy lifestyle. Then it will be most useful for him and for others. Also, the most important condition should be that the person is healthy. Therefore, before the procedure:

1. It is necessary to limit the consumption of fatty, heavy foods. There is something useful and easy. There should be dinner, but it should be small and dietary.
2. Two days before the procedure you should not drink alcohol.
3. Smoking is not recommended before the procedure, especially two hours before.
4. You don't need to have breakfast either. You can take tea with you in a thermos and drink it after the procedure.
5. Taboo on medications three days before donating blood.

Donation occurs in specialized blood transfusion centers, which are located at hospitals, maternity hospitals and exist as independent units. The work schedule is individual; they often take blood from 9 to 11 am. The doctor will take blood for analysis, measure blood pressure, and examine the potential donor. If everything is normal, the nurse will draw no more than 500 ml of blood.

After the person’s blood is taken, he should rest a little, drink sweet tea, eat something, and should not smoke for at least an hour. The doctor can also measure your blood pressure; there is no need to make sudden movements or work actively.

The state guarantees a day off on the day of blood donation, but if you wish, you can not do this and go about your normal business.

Donating blood does not affect performance or the ability to drive a car. But if the donor feels some fatigue, weakness, dizziness, it is better for him to spend this day in peace and recovery.

After the procedure, you need to drink a lot and eat nourishing, good food. The emphasis should be on meat, pomegranates, fruits, vegetables, and natural juices. It is necessary to avoid alcohol for at least two days.

You can donate blood no more than once a month. But depending on what kind of blood you donate (whole blood, platelets, plasma), this period can range from 2 weeks to 3 months. The doctor will tell you this individually.

Contraindications

Blood should not be donated to people with chronic or acute diseases which were mentioned above. Also, if a person has low hemoglobin, donation will have to be postponed. If a person has a question about donating blood, it is also questionable: it is better to wait, and the doctor, most likely, will not allow it.

If herpes worsens, you cannot donate blood; you need to be cured first. In case of incomprehensible rashes or slight deterioration in health (when there are no specific complaints), it is better to postpone donation.

Ideally, the donor is a cheerful, cheerful person who is not worried about anything. You also cannot be a donor if before this the person ate a lot, drank alcohol, smoked, or was tired. There is no need to donate blood after business trips and night discos, serious physical exertion and before them. It can be harmful.

Consequences

At correct delivery donation is beneficial. The condition of the skin, blood vessels, heart improves, immune defense. Rumor has it that it even helps prevent oncological diseases, the body rejuvenates.

The chemical reactions that occur in the body after donating blood are mostly positive and contribute to better production of blood cells.

The main thing is to observe the measure and mode of delivery.

One of the main consequences is a feeling of happiness and joy from the fact that a good deed was done that can save more than one life. This is an increase in self-esteem, a social benefit.

Is the procedure dangerous?

It’s not dangerous, you can’t get infected with anything, the conditions are sterile. Disposable systems are used. The state provides all this.

All medications that are introduced into the donor’s body in order to take blood (for platelets, red blood cells or any other indicators) are safe.

Benefits for women

For ladies, this is an opportunity to stay young and slim, because regular donation prevents obesity and helps maintain youthful skin.

Benefits for men

Donating blood is beneficial for men because their body rejuvenates. While women become younger due to menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and hormones, men do not have this opportunity.

Thanks to donation, they prolong their youth, sexual activity, and become more self-confident.

For men, this is an opportunity to feel like a truly stronger sex. In addition, men are more susceptible high blood pressure, donation reduces it.

There has been debate for quite some time about the benefits of losing a certain amount of blood. But doctors are in a hurry to reassure everyone and confidently assert that it is useful to donate blood through certain time and subject to some restrictions. IN in this case we're talking about that blood is donated according to certain rules, after examining the donor.

The main thing is to carry out everything preparatory activities, which will allow the fence to be carried out for the benefit of a person, and without harming him. This is especially true for women, because women need to donate blood a little less often, since their loss is taken into account due to monthly menstruation.

Before delivery

Since it was already noted above, you need preliminary preparation before taking the analysis. Be sure to check for Rh factor and determine the group. It's also useful to do general analysis blood for possible levels of viral cells. It could be HIV infection, hepatitis B and C, syphilis and others. Regardless of who needs this help, age does not matter. Therefore, older people can also donate blood for children. Our plasma is ageless.

Why can't you donate blood without additional examinations? This is explained by the fact that our bodies may contain dangerous cells This can be detrimental to the health of the patient and the donor. Therefore, a preliminary examination and testing is simply necessary. You will also need to undergo a general examination by a doctor to determine general condition health, it may turn out that your blood cannot be taken due to certain indicators. This is especially true for those who have had operations, have tattoos on their bodies, or piercings.

In order to become a donor, you also need a certain weight – at least 50 kilograms. In particular, this applies to children who are low in weight and cannot be tested for a donor. Also, who else needs to be careful is pregnant and breastfeeding women. In some cases, it is still useful to make a fence, but not in large quantities.

Does blood sampling have a beneficial or harmful effect on the body?

Many people are interested in this issue, and some are even indignant - why not? It must be said that the information has long been confirmed that It is useful to donate blood periodically. Also, in more serious situations, many do not even think about their health, because for some this blood is much more important. Therefore, the question of whether it is harmful to donate blood is completely absent.

And so let’s determine what exactly are the advantages of periodic delivery:

• stimulated general recovery body and blood circulation is normalized;
• prevention of cardiovascular diseases occurs;
• the body activates independently and develops immune system, because in this case, taking special medications will be harmful compared to transfusion;
• the liver unloads on its own and the work of the spleen is prevented - why not do this without drugs;
• If you periodically donate blood, the body will independently resist subsequent excessive bleeding.

Why still can’t donate blood often?

Despite the many advantages of this procedure, there are some limitations:

• It is not recommended to donate blood to men more than 5 times a year, and to women more than 4 times;
• you can't burden yourself physical activity two days before the procedure;
• There are some dietary restrictions - do not eat fatty and fried foods, alcohol, eggs. It is better to donate blood after a diet;
• After the collection, it is harmful to lead an active lifestyle, in particular, we are talking about the fact that it is better to rest and not go on long journeys.

Is it free or paid to donate blood?

It is worth noting that as of today (03/2/2014) all similar procedures should be done for free. IN mandatory this should occur at designated transfusion sites with prior examination by a physician. Therefore, the doctor must determine whether it is harmful for you to donate blood or not. It is not recommended to agree to a fence without tests and examination.

We can confidently say that today donating blood is free, especially since after the procedure you yourself should receive a reward and additional days off for rehabilitation. As for the size of the remuneration itself, this is a matter for local authorities. Therefore, do not be afraid and, if necessary and able, feel free to donate blood in order to help people who really need donation. Your doctor should warn you about rehabilitation period, balanced diet and other features.

Now you can make your own conclusion about whether it is useful to donate blood periodically, in order not only to help the patient, but also your body with recovery. You will become an irreplaceable donor, because sometimes things happen rare group and requires careful selection the right person. This also applies directly own health, because in this way you help cleanse blood vessels, increase immunity and restore the overall balance of your body.

The chief transfusiologist of the National Medical and Surgical Center named after A. N. I. Pirogova, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Evgeniy Zhiburt.

Donate for your health!

Tell me, how safe is the blood collection procedure for a donor?

Elena, Moscow

– Donation does not pose any significant health risks. And first of all, you have absolutely no fear that you will be infected with anything during donation (blood collection). Unless a bruise may appear at the injection site...

It is better to donate blood in a well-equipped, modern station.

It is very important after donation (especially for young, graceful girls who do not have donor experience) to sit and drink a glass of juice or tea, otherwise there is a risk of fainting. It is optimal to spend 1 hour at the donor site.

If you are not feeling well, you do not need to donate blood. Ideally, a donor is a healthy, cheerful person who, on the eve of donation, got enough sleep, led a healthy lifestyle and decided to take this important step voluntarily, at the call of his soul.

Risk level

At one time there were many reports in the press about infection through blood transfusions. Does such a risk exist?

Gregory, Perm region

-Yes, blood transfusion carries with it serious risks. Besides the fact that donor blood- this is a foreign tissue that can lead to immune complications, there is also the possibility of transmitting infectious diseases with it. The problem is that microbes change, mutate, and new strains appear that even modern test systems do not always detect. This applies to hepatitis B and C viruses, and to such new infections for our country as West Nile virus and human T-lymphoid virus, which causes leukemia and lymphomas.

There is another problem - the so-called seronegative window ( latent period when the virus is already in the blood, and the immune response to it in the form of antibodies has not yet been formed), which for HIV infection ranges from 3 weeks to 6 months, and for hepatitis C – from 54 to 192 days. All this time, their carrier (donor) may feel great and not even suspect that he is sick. This problem can be solved only in two ways - high-quality laboratory examination and the consciousness of the donor himself.

Expensive pleasure

I heard that now in our country you can prepare your own blood before an operation and thus avoid a donor transfusion. This is true?

Margarita, Kursk

-Yes, there is such a possibility. As a rule, they resort to collecting their own blood the day before (six months before) elective surgery when large blood loss is expected (for example, on the eve of joint replacement or difficult childbirth). But autodonation is an expensive pleasure, so in our country no more than 2% of patients resort to such a practice.

Is there a shortage?

They say that there is a large shortage of donor blood in Russia. Is this situation somehow resolved?

Mikhail, Chelyabinsk

–In fact, today the shortage of donor blood (or rather, its individual components) is not such an acute problem as it was before, which is associated with the development of high medical technologies, thanks to which, for example, it became possible to collect, purify and return the patient’s own blood directly on the operating table during a planned operation. With the advent of this technology, cardiac surgeons' need for donor blood has decreased by approximately five times. And our doctors have become better at operating, avoiding large blood loss during surgery.

Date of publication: 07/26/2013

Since prehistoric times it has been known that significant loss of blood leads to death. The desire to restore balance in order to save lives seems quite logical. However, the lack of understanding of human physiology in ancient times led to incorrect actions of primitive healers. The latter suggested that a person who had lost a lot of blood drink the blood of an animal to restore the loss.

In an era much closer to ours, namely in the 17th century, attempts were made to transfuse blood from animals to humans. However, such attempts led to even more dramatic results than those of the ancients. If quantity lost blood was not critical and the person drank the blood of an animal for his healing, then he still had a chance to survive. While when the animal's blood was injected into a vein, the treatment session ended in the death of the patient.

Only in the middle of the 18th century in Russia, Professor Alexei Matveevich Filomafitsky published the “Treatise on Blood Transfusion”. However, at that time nothing was known about blood groups. Therefore, the practice of blood transfusion began to be introduced everywhere only from the beginning of the First World War. The appearance of the first myths “proving” the harm of blood donation dates back to this same period.

Today donation (from Latin word donare - which means “to give”) is a voluntary, conscious donation of blood by a donor in favor of the recipient (the one who accepts, receives). In this case, whole blood or its components can be donated. Immediately before donating blood, the donor undergoes medical examination, including a blood test.

For what purposes is donated blood used (benefits for the recipient)

We will list individual cases, in which the benefits of donation for the recipient are not only obvious, but are often the only way to save a life. Blood transfusion, which, as is known, is possible only thanks to the good will of donors, is used in the following situations:

• Significant blood loss as a result of injury, accident, surgery, etc.
• Bleeding that can't stop
• Severe burns
• Purulent-septic diseases
• Anemia
• Hematological diseases
• Severe toxicoses
• Difficult childbirth.

Myths about the dangers of donating blood

Without trying to find out the reasons for the emergence of various misconceptions and myths around donation, we will try to figure out whether the harm of donation actually occurs. You can often hear that the donor runs the risk of infection during blood donation. In our opinion, only someone who has never donated blood and has not been to a blood transfusion station can say this. The fact is that the blood collection system is disposable, hermetically sealed and opened in the presence of the donor immediately before use.

Sometimes “experts” who have never donated blood say that the blood donation procedure itself takes a lot of time. In fact, it takes longer to undergo a medical examination before donating blood, and the procedure itself lasts only a few minutes. In this case, whole blood is pumped into the system in 5–8, sometimes 15 minutes. Blood components take a little longer, since the rest, after separation, is returned to the donor.
The blood collection procedure can be viewed here:

Some people also believe that regular donation causes addiction; the body, they say, gets used to producing an excess amount of blood, and this is harmful to health. This is an ordinary delusion that has nothing to do with reality. Dependence does not arise, excess blood is not produced, but the donor’s body is in “constant combat readiness” and in case of blood loss, the donor tolerates it much more easily.

Consequences of blood donation for the donor

And, despite the debunking of all fantasies and speculations, many people quite seriously ask whether it is harmful to be a blood donor. Well, judge for yourself. Donation contributes to the management healthy image life, since special requirements are imposed on the donor. A donor who regularly donates blood also regularly undergoes a free medical examination. Any deviation from the norm will be immediately identified and treatment offered.

Regular blood donations help control the amount of iron, an excess of which in the blood is not beneficial for the body. In addition, by regularly donating blood, the donor “starts a program” of rejuvenation of the body. Men are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases, and women delay the onset of menopause by several years.

Due to regularly renewed blood, donors have a much more stable functioning of the immune system, liver, pancreas, digestive system. Donors, according to statistics, live on average several years longer than their other fellow citizens. This is due, in addition to constant monitoring state of health, and also the emotional component. Many people already understand that giving is much more pleasant than receiving gifts. Giving blood often means giving life.

Restrictions on blood donation

Being a donor is an honor, but there are serious restrictions in this matter. And not at all because donation is harmful for the donor himself. There are simply circumstances in which donated blood can be harmful and even dangerous for the recipient. Since these circumstances are numerous, we will outline them only in general outline, more detailed information can be obtained by calling the blood transfusion station.

Briefly, the restrictions are as follows: age – not younger than 18 years; local registration; The donor's body weight must be more than 50 kg; you need to be sure that the donor is not sick and has never had certain diseases (the list is impressive, so see the blood transfusion station for details).

In addition, there is a list of diseases, therapeutic procedures, surgical operations, contacts with some patients, imposing time restrictions on donation. And one more thing additional list for women (feminists, please don’t strain yourself: this is not about violating women’s rights).

On the day of blood donation and the day before, the donor is not recommended to eat fried, smoked, spicy or simply fatty foods; You should avoid dairy products, eggs and butter. You should not take alcohol or medications for at least 2-3 days, respectively. It is strictly not recommended to donate blood on an empty stomach, but breakfast should be lean.

Immediately before donating blood, the donor is offered sweet tea and cookies at the station. After the procedure, you should have a hearty lunch (as a rule, you will be given a coupon for free food) and you should avoid physical and other activities that day. It is best to devote the rest of the day to rest, especially since this is provided for by law.