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Donating Blood Post 4

Autor Ryan

People with blood pressure this low are not very common. Normal blood pressure is 12080, but may be as low as 9060. These numbers refer to the pressure when the heart is pumping (systolic pressure – the first number), and when the heart is resting between beats (diastolic pressure – the second number). People whose blood pressure is consistently below normal (for instance, 9060) are more likely to pass out from donating blood. However, if you take your time to rest and eat cookies before you leave, you should be fine. If you’re going to feint, it will be in those first 15 minutes after donating.

Risks in Donating

In industrialized nations like the United States and Canada, there is almost no risk of infection involved in donating blood. Sterile, disposable needles are used only once. The needle is attached to a sterile plastic bag, which collects the blood from your vein. Therefore contracting an infectious disease from donating is absolutely impossible. If you take off the cotton ball before the blood clots and rub your dirty finger all over the broken skin, yes, you might get a little bacterial infection on your skin. But that’s normal for that behavior, which (I hope) no one is silly enough to do.

What are the risks of donating, other than infection Well, there is the outside chance of fainting. There is the chance that your veins may be difficult to see, and the nurse may have to try more than once to successfully lance a vein. That, also, isn’t very common.

Even more rarely, hematoma may occur, which is the accumulation of blood under the skin. This looks like a really bad hickie, and takes time to heal, but it is generally not dangerous. Usually, a small light bruise around the point of entry will become visible the next day, and might be a little tender. This is normal, and like any bruise, it should clear up within a day or two.

Other than those small things mentioned, there are no risks in donating. This is a case where there truly is nothing to fear but fear itself!

Risks in Transfusions

Like any procedure, blood transfusion does have its risks. However, organizations like the Red Cross have been operating blood collection programs for over 50 years, and in that time the process has been refined. Also during that time was the discovery of AIDS and the related virus, which is blood-borne. Improved methods of screening donors and their blood have all but eliminated the risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other blood-borne infections from blood transfusions.