Why should you donate blood?
A unit of blood can save up to three lives as blood is separated into red blood cells, plasma and platelets
Donating a unit of this “precious gift of life” saves lives of those in dire need of blood.
One must develop a habit of donating blood in order for the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) to collect sufficient blood that will ensure that in cases of emergency quality blood is always available.
Thousands of patients would die daily if there is insufficient quality blood in stock. When one donates blood, they give patients the gift money cannot buy or science cannot create.
A unit of blood can save up to three lives as blood is separated into red blood cells, plasma and platelets.
Who can donate blood?
The universal access to safe blood is the lifeline for the healthcare system of any nation.
As South Africans, we can all be proud of our dedicated and selfless voluntary donors who regularly donate blood to save lives of thousands of our people every year.
Minimum requirements to be a blood donor:
You are between the ages of 16 and 75 years old, for first time donors.
You weigh a minimum of 50 kilograms.
You are in good health.
You lead a low risk lifestyle.
You consider your blood safe for transfusion.
You have had a balanced meal within four hours of donating blood.
You have not donated blood in the last 56 days.
Your pulse is between 50-100 regular beats per minute.
Your blood pressure is below 180 systolic (first number) and below 100 diastolic (second number) (180/100mmHg) and above 100 systolic (first number) and above 60 diastolic (second number) (100/60mmHg).
What happens to your blood after donation?
Less than 5% of blood is used as whole blood (the way you donated it). By separating the other 95% into its components; red blood cells, platelets and plasma, the unit you donated can save up to 3 lives.
Which is wonderful considering the whole process takes only about 30 minutes.
Your platelets can be used for a cancer patient, plasma to replace clotting factors in a trauma patient and your red blood cells for patients who needed surgery or suffered complications during childbirth.
