Blood Donation Facts
Is it true that one can donate one’s blood to oneself?
Yes this is 100% true that one can donate one’s own blood to oneself. When a person’s date of carrying out an operation is known and the person has no other illness other than that related to the operation, then he can use his own blood for himself when required during the operation.

The process involved:

This  process can be used in two ways:

• 1 Month prior to the date of operation is decided, the patient can start collecting his blood. He can collect 4 bottles of blood in an interval of 1 week each, within the given 1 month’s time before the operation.  The most common rule of donating blood every 3 months doesn’t apply to this kind of person. Also the person has to start the intake of iron pills during this time interval.
• Just before the operation commences 2 bottles of blood is removed from the patient’s body and in its place saline is injected into the patient’s body.  Thus the blood that flows during the operation becomes quite thin in concentration.  After the operation is performed, the previously collected blood is re injected into the patient’s body.
  

The benefits?

• Issues related to cross matching of blood is ruled out.
• No contraction of diseases , during blood transfusion.
• No fear of any kind of fatal reactions due to blood transfusion from other donors.

The following points needs to be considered while getting blood from the blood bank for the ill person:

• If the receiver’s blood group is known then the availability of the blood of the  same blood group in the blood bank has to be thoroughly checked.  RH negative blood group as rarely found, will be available in the blood bank, cannot be always assured.
• The sample blood collected from the patient’s body for cross matching should be taken to the blood bank.  This sample blood should be labeled with the patient’s name. If the blood requirement is for a six month old baby, then the blood sample of the mother also needs to be carried along with the baby’s blood sample. A blood bank can make available blood only when a doctor’s prescription letter is presented.
• Always remember to carry the doctor’s prescription letter, which contains the patient’s name, the quantity of blood required and the blood group required.
• On receiving a voluntary blood donor’s card, the donor should as far as possible approach the same blood bank which issued the donor’s card. The donor’s card shouldn’t be a very old one i.e., approximately 1-2 years old card will do.
• While carrying the blood from the blood bank to the hospital, it should be carried along with ice. Or else, it made lead to blood spoilage.
• The bag carrying the blood should be handed over to the doctor or any other responsible staff at the hospital.