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What should we do before donating blood?
Blood donation is good for health. Many of us extend a helping hand when family members or friends need blood.
But remember, just donating blood is not enough. Before and after donating blood, the blood donor has to take care of several things.
If blood is needed, it has to be collected from the blood donor. It is said, one bag of blood can save three lives.
Things to do before donating blood
Let’s find out what a blood donor should do before donating blood:
Eat nutritious or liquid foods:
Nutritious food should be eaten two to three hours before blood donation so that blood sugar level remains stable.
Since a large amount of fluid will be excreted from the body, the blood donor should drink an adequate amount of liquid food such as water, sherbet, fruit juice, etc. so that the blood pressure does not decrease.
Blood cannot be given on an empty stomach or on a full stomach:
Yes, Blood should not be given on an empty stomach or on a full stomach. Blood should be given within half an hour to one hour of taking light food.
Drink plenty of water before donating blood. No food should be eaten immediately after giving blood. Food should be eaten after one hour.
Sleep more and don’t take any medicine:
Good sleep keeps both body and mind well. You need to sleep more at night than on any other day before donating blood. You need to fall asleep earlier than usual.
If you get a lot of sleep on the day before giving blood, the body will feel better during and after giving blood on the day of giving blood. It will take less fatigue.
You can’t smoke on the day you donate blood:
Smoking means poisoning. If the blood donor is a smoker, there is no risk for the patient. However, on the day the smoker donates blood, he should refrain from smoking for his own safety.
Blood group matching:
Blood should never be given if blood groups do not match. This can lead to the death of the patient.
Cross-matching and screening tests, as well as matching blood groups of patients and blood donors, are very important before blood transfusions.
In this test, it is known whether there is any blood-borne disease in the blood of the blood donor.
Age and weight of the blood donor should be checked:
Blood donors must be 18 years of age or older to donate blood. If the weight is less than 45 kg, the person will not be able to donate blood.
The person will not be able to donate blood even if they are infected with any type of bacteria, virus, or fungal disease.
It would be good for the people who are in need of blood if every healthy person makes blood donation a regular habit.
