By:Wanish Tortes-Mcginnis
Blood Package
Most people have heard of a blood donor or a blood donation. Although most people don’t know how blood donations came to be or what people can give and take. Blood Donation, or also known as blood transfusion, is when a person willingly draws blood for a patient in need. The blood can be used as biopharmaceutical medication for a certain patient.
Blood transfusion has been used since the early 1800s but was studied in the 1600s. According to the American Red Cross, the first blood transfusion was recorded in 1665 and it was transfused from dog to dog. The second transfusion was done in 1667 by Jean-Baptiste Denys where he transfused the blood from sheep to human, the human surprisingly survived but he was still ill. The first successful transfusion was done in 1818 by british obstetrician James Blundel, which was human to human.
In order to donate blood, both men and women who are at least 16 years old and 130 pounds can donate blood. Men and women who have alcoholism or any type of drug related problems can not donate blood.
Why do we donate blood? Safe blood saves lives and improves health. Blood transfusion is needed for: women with complications during pregnancy, such as ectopic pregnancies and hemorrhages before, during, or after childbirth; children with severe anemia often resulting from malaria or malnutrition; people with severe trauma following man-made and natural disasters; and many complex medical and surgical procedures and cancer patients.
It is also needed for regular transfusions for people with conditions such as thalassemia and sickle cell disease and is used to make products such as clotting factors for people with hemophilia.
There is a constant need for regular blood supply because blood can be stored for only a limited time before use. Regular blood donations by a sufficient number of healthy people are needed to ensure that safe blood will be available whenever and wherever it is needed. The different types of blood are +O, -O, +A, -A, +B, -B, +AB, and -AB. O blood can donate to +O, -O, +A, -A, +B, -B, +AB, and -AB. A blood can donate to +A, -A,+AB, and -AB. B blood can donate to +B, -B, +AB, and -AB. AB blood can only donate to their own type which is +AB, and -AB.