Where Your Donation Goes
The Blood Bank is situated in a spacious area with all facilities for collection from the donors, testing, componenting and storage facilities. It supports cardiac surgery, neurosurgery and the intensive care units of the Institute, as well as Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital.
If you are willing to donate on short notice in emergencies, do inform the Blood Bank, so that they can contact you when the need arises. The same applies if you have a rare blood group — let the Blood Bank know of your interest to donate.
Tested, Grouped, Separated, Matched
At SSSIHMS, fully automated ELISA processors are used for conducting the HIV and hepatitis tests. The blood is grouped and stored either as whole blood or as components like packed red blood cells, plasma, platelets or cryoprecipitate. This is then issued to the patient after checking for compatibility with the patient’s blood. The Column Agglutination Technique is used at the SSSIHMS blood bank to test the compatibility of the donor’s blood with the patient’s.
Separating blood into components helps the patient, as only that component which is therapeutically indicated is transfused. In short, it is a method to optimise blood utilisation — and the donor gets the satisfaction of being able to help more than one patient. The separation is done in a closed system using a temperature-regulated centrifuge and a plasma expressor under a laminar flow.
What Donation Actually Involves
Plasma, Cells and Platelets
Blood supplies to every cell of the body oxygen and nutrients, and carries away the waste products. It also plays a central role in the body’s defence mechanism and is an indicator of a person’s health condition. Blood is pumped by the heart through a network of miles of blood vessels to every part of the body. It moves at a speed of about a foot per second, completing a circulation in about twenty seconds.
Blood is composed of a clear yellow fluid, the plasma, and other elements: red blood cells (erythrocytes), which carry oxygen; white blood cells (leukocytes), which fight infection; and platelets (thrombocytes), which stop bleeding — along with proteins, electrolytes, hormones and glucose. The erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets are described as the formed elements of the blood; together they compose about 50% of its total volume.
Blood is produced in the bone marrow. In adults, the spine, ribs and pelvis are the primary bones that make blood. Red blood cells last about 120 days in the bloodstream, platelets about ten days, and the various kinds of white blood cells from days to years — so when we donate, we are in fact donating cells that would die in any case, and which can be life-saving for someone else.
ABO and the Rh Factor
The most common type of grouping is the ABO grouping. Red blood cells have a protein coat (called antigens) on their surface, which distinguishes them. According to this, blood is divided into four groups: A (A antigen present), B (B antigen present), AB (both A and B antigens present) and O (no antigens present). There are subtypes under this grouping — listed as A1, A2, A1B, A2B and so on — some of which are quite rare.
Apart from this, another protein plays an important part in the grouping of blood: the Rh factor. If it is present, the blood type is called positive; if absent, negative. This gives the eight broad categories — A positive and negative, B positive and negative, AB positive and negative, and O positive and negative.
What Donated Blood Is Used For
Who Should Not Donate Blood
Reasons People Give for Not Donating
I am scared of needles / afraid to give blood
Nearly everyone feels that way in the beginning. However, most donors will tell you that you feel only a slight initial pinch, and seven to ten minutes later you are heading towards the refreshment room.
I am too busy
The entire process takes about half an hour, and the actual bleeding time is about six to eight minutes.
No one ever asked me — I am not sure my blood is needed
Consider yourself asked. There is no other way to supply the blood needs of hospital patients but through the generous donations of people like you.
I already gave this year
A normal adult can safely donate every ninety days. Many donors give four times a year.
I will get infected; I can get AIDS
A new sterile needle and bag are used for each donation, and the needle is discarded immediately afterwards. There is no way you could get infected during donation.
My blood isn’t the right type
Every type of blood is needed. If your group is common, there are many patients who need it; if it is rare, there are fewer donors available, so it is in short supply.
I don’t have blood to spare and I’ll feel weak later
Only about 7% of the body’s five to six litres is collected at each donation. In volume, it is replaced within a few hours, and normal daily activities can be continued.
I am too old or not fit to donate
If you have any doubts, check with your physician or the staff of the Blood Bank. A great many medical conditions do not prevent you from donating blood, or do so only temporarily.
Practical Points for Donors
To Donate, or to Be Called in an Emergency
Contact the Blood Bank at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, SSSIHMS Whitefield, particularly if you have a rare blood group or are willing to donate on short notice.