HealthOnTrack

Posts Tagged ‘donating blood’

There is endless support for citizens to volunteer as a blood donor and the impact that anyone’s blood could have could be life changing or even life saving. Today marks World Blood Donor Day with two main objectives; one being to encourage more people to supply the health service with their valuable blood; the second being to thank those who have continued to support the cause, whether it has been for one month or ten years.

The World Health Organisation promotes this special day to encourage folks to be silently charitable in their donations. The UK are leaders in the effort, celebrating a whole Blood Donor Week, but with World Blood Donor Day occurring in over 40 countries, it is clear that support is growing exponentially and hopefully medical transportation vehicles will be in high demand as they carry plenty of samples national-wide.

This year’s tagline is “Every blood donor is a hero” with a focus on celebrating blood donor services and each blood donor’s dedication to the system, even if they are not paid for their contribution. You might find some people proclaiming that they don’t know where or how to give blood, but the great thing about being a much-needed donor is that people from all walks of life can visit a centre and support the cause.   Read more... (276 words, 2 images, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)

We hear calls for blood donations all the time. Many people don’t make the effort to perform the act, possibly because there is not a sense of directly helping someone or changing a course of events. People underestimate the value of donating blood, but the simple fact is that the benefits of one ten-minute blood donation session could save a life. That should be motivation enough. We learn about transportation of blood around the body, but what actually happens to the blood after all blood donations are made to the blood bank. Where does it go and how is it stored?

Blood donations in the UK could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to travel around the country by medical courier. Last year UK blood donations at drives all around the country totalled approximately two million.  Read more... (313 words, 1 image, estimated 1:15 mins reading time)