As the world marks World Humanitarian day this Saturday, CESPAD wishes to celebrate you, our esteemed blood donors. By showing up regularly at our country-wide blood drives, you have helped save lives and alleviate human suffering to one person in every 10 minutes in Kenya who needs blood transfusion. That is the very essence of humanitarianism.
Contrary to the popularly-held belief, blood is not just needed for emergency situations. Hospitals for instance depend on donations daily for routine procedures and operations. They may need up to 10 donations for a heart bypass operation whereas a leukemia patient can use up to 700 donations over the course of their treatment.
Sounds like a lot of blood right? Does it feel as if your one pint donation every 3 months (male) or 4 months (females) was a mere drop in the ocean? Well, it is not. Just three teaspoons of your blood is adequate to save the life of a premature baby. That makes you a hero!
When you gave your blood donation it was processed and tested for HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis B and C before being availed for patient care. Out of the 10-12 pints of blood carried by your body, you only gave a maximum of one pint (450ml) effectively burning about 650 calories in the process.
Your blood might have saved more than one life as it was transfused either as whole blood or as a component of whole blood i.e. white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets or plasma depending on the recipients need. The needs vary and the components may be used as follows:
- Plasma is used to treat burn victims and also helps to stop excessive bleeding
- Red cells carry oxygen and are used in routine and emergency surgery. Also used for patients with anemia.
- Platelets help stop bleeding after surgery and treat leukemia patients.
Blood is the most precious gift than anyone can give to another person. We encourage you to keep giving. #1Blood1Tribe1Kenya
