Blood donations are an integral and essential part of our health care system. Without blood donations, many of the medical procedures that we take for granted could not take place. Doctors and surgeons rely on blood donations to carry out a wide variety of life saving and life-enhancing treatments on a daily basis.
More blood donors are needed
As blood can only be safely stored for a relatively short period of time, hospital blood stocks need to be continuously refreshed. For example, red blood cells can only be stored for 35 days and platelets (the part of the blood that helps prevent excessive bleeding) can only be stored for five days.
In particular, blood donations are needed from black and Asian people because the current levels of black and Asian donors are very low. Certain ethnic groups often require certain blood types, so having a range of donations from a wide range of ethnic groups provides a more effective way of helping to meet the potential demand for blood.
Glossary
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Blood transfusions
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A blood transfusion involves transferring blood into a person using a tube that goes directly into a vein in the arm
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Blood donation
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Blood donation is volunteering to give some of your blood to help people who need extra blood after or during surgery. The blood is taken from a vein
Last updated: 04 October 2011
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