Blood Safety Tips

Transfusion medicine is a fast-moving and exciting field of research. But worldwide access to its life-saving interventions is limited to relatively few. In many regions of the developing world access to these treatments is simply not available. And unlike the developed world, where much of the blood goes to the treatment of older patients, a substantial portion of blood in the developing world goes to treat younger patients: infants and children with anemia due to malaria, for example; victims of trauma; and mothers with blood loss due to childbirth.

According to WHO, more than half a million women die every year during pregnancy, 99% of them in the developing world. The most common cause of maternal mortality is hemorrhage during or shortly after delivery, contributing to 34% of maternal deaths in Africa, 31% in Asia, and 21% in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In many cases, blood is not available because effective systems for collection do not exist. To maintain an adequate blood supply, 1–3% of the population needs to be blood donors and where blood is available, it is often unsafe. WHO recommends that, at a minimum, blood be screened for HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Syphilis. 41 out of 148 countries that provided WHO data for screening, reported that they were not able to screen all donated blood for one or more of these infections.

WHO estimates that the lack of effective screening results in up to 16 million new infections with Hepatitis B, 5 million new infections with Hepatitis C and 160 000 cases of HIV infection every year. Overall, 5%  to 10% of HIV infections worldwide are the result of transfusions of contaminated blood or blood products.

Why Give Blood?

Donated blood is a lifeline for many people needing long-term treatments, not just in emergencies. A person blood's main components: red cells, plasma and platelets are vital for many different uses.

Red Cells, Plasma and Platelets

Red cells are used predominantly in treatments for cancer and blood diseases, as well as for treating anaemia and in surgeries for transplants and burns. Plasma provides proteins, nutrients and a clotting agent that is vital to stop bleeding - it is the most versatile component of your blood. Platelets are tiny cells used to help patients at a high risk of bleeding. They also contribute to the repair of damaged body tissue.

Short Shelf Life

Maintaining a regular supply of blood to all the people who need it is not easy. Blood components have a short shelf life and predicting demand can be difficult. By giving blood, every donor is contributing to a nationwide challenge to provide life-saving products whenever and wherever they are needed.

The shelf life of blood components is as follows:

• Red Cells - up to 35 days
• Plasma - up to 1 year
• Platelets - up to 5 days

Component Donation and Component Preparation

Component donation is a specialised way of donating using a cell separator machine. These machines separate the blood into all its various components: platelets, red cells, plasma & white cells. We take out just what we need and remaining components are put back into your body. Because majority of blood components are returned, the donor can safely donate more frequently than every 16 weeks. In some cases, this can be every two weeks.

A component donation is very important as this allows us to collect individual parts of the blood as and when we need them most. If there is a need for platelets we can quickly ask platelet donors to come into one of our blood donation suites to donate. There we can collect platelets to meet the required demand. In fact, sometimes a donor will donate for a specific patient's planned treatment.

Blood components (red cells, plasma, platelets) can also be prepared from whole blood through specialized blood bank procedures. Blood component therapy is always the preferred mode of treatment as it avoids unnecessary risks of transfusion and provides more effective therapy to the patient.

Aspirin and Blood Donation

Will aspirin affect my platelet donation?

The chemical composition of aspirin impairs the ability of platelets; a component of blood that helps to prevent bleeding, to function properly. Platelet donors must refrain from donating for five days if they have taken any products containing aspirin.

Will aspirin affect my blood donation?

Blood donors can donate after taking aspirin and preparations containing aspirin, as long as they are well. The chemical composition of aspirin impairs the ability of platelets; a component of blood that helps to prevent bleeding, to function properly. Therefore, it's important that we know if you've taken aspirin, so that the platelets from the blood donation are not used.

Should I stop taking aspirin so I can donate platelets?

We recommend you consult your GP before stopping or starting any medication.

Eligibility Requirements of Blood Donors

To ensure the safety of blood donation for both donors and recipients, all volunteer blood donors must be evaluated to determine their eligibility to give blood. The final determination will be made on the day of the donation at the blood drive or blood donation center. If you were deferred from donating in the past, you may be able to donate again.

Blood donors must:

• Be in good general health and feeling well
• Be at least 18 years old
• Weigh at least 110 lbs

Additional weight requirements apply for donors 18 years old and younger.

Donor Criteria

For your health and well-being, a blood donor must:

• Be between 16 and 60 years old
• Weigh at least 45 kg
• Have a hemoglobin level of at least 12.5 g/dl
• Generally be in good health
• Not have had any symptoms of infection for at least 1 week e.g. sore throat, cough, runny nose, diarrhea
• Not have had a fever in the last 3 weeks

In addition to the above requirements, apheresis donors should also:

• Weigh more than 50 kg
• Be at least 18 years old
• Not be more than 50 years old (for new apheresis donors only)
• Have had donated blood at least once before
• Have arm veins of a suitable size    

Donation Intervals

Are you a repeat donor? Please also check if you have met the following donation intervals before making the next donation. This is to ensure that you have fully recovered from your previous donation.
 

Screening, Cross-Matching & Grouping

To increase access to blood transfusions and to promote blood safety, WHO has been working for many years to help nations adopt an integrated approach for blood safety that has four key elements:

• Establishment of a nationally-coordinated blood transfusion service
• Collection of blood from exclusively voluntary donors from low-risk populations
• Testing of all blood for compatibility
• Transfusion-transmissible infections and reduction of unnecessary transfusions

The safest blood comes from unpaid donors who donate for altruistic reasons. In this group, the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis infection and other blood-borne pathogens is lowest. Infection rates are higher among donors who are family members or members of the community, who donate to replace blood used by a patient, a common practice in our country, and infection rates among paid donors are higher still.

After blood has been donated, it's always tested for the following infections:

• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• HIV
• Syphilis
• Malaria