Thanks to some savvy advertising campaigns and advice from doctors all over the country, more and more people head down to their local blood banks these days, which means there’s now plenty of blood in circulation that can help deal with emergencies in hospitals. Some people give blood because they’re conscious of the effects this can have on other people’s chance of staying alive, whereas others do it as a means of settling up with karma and ensuring there’ll be enough around should they ever need a transfusion themselves. Either way, giving blood is a noble thing to do, and everyone who participates deserves much more than a cup of tea and a biscuit.
With this in mind, I thought today might be a good time to write and release an article highlighting exactly what happens to your blood after donation. When asking friends about the extent of their knowledge over the last couple of days, I discovered that most people haven’t a clue what happens to their fluids once they leave the body, and so this post should be very interesting to you all. Spend the next few minutes reading through, and I’m confident there’ll be a few surprises in store.
Step 1: Processing The Blood
Once your blood had been removed, the very first step is to scan it into a computer database at a local medical centre. It is then spun at astonishing speeds to separate the red cells and platelets from the plasma. The plasma is then used to make up other compounds like cryoprecipitate that can be used in many different medical procedures. After this, the sample is bacterially tested using high tech machinery and then sent away for further testing.
Step 2: Testing The Blood
As the blood arrives at a testing centre a small sample is taken, and the rest is frozen for up to one year. From this small sample, experts are able to determine the blood type, and whether any infectious diseases are present. If they are, your entire donation is disposed of using companies who provide blood disposal for medical retrieval services, and you’ll be contacted with all relevant information. If the blood is clean and healthy, it goes back with the rest of your sample in the freezer.
Step 3: Distribution
Depending on how in demand your blood type is, your donation may be sent out to a hospital straight away, or it may stay at the testing lab for a couple of months. Experts advise that red blood cells should only be kept for around 42 days, but the rest of the compounds can last for months. There are specialist companies that operate a 24/7 delivery service to hospitals, so whenever your sample is needed, it will be on its way.
So, now you know what happens to all the blood you donate each year, I hope you’ll be more inclined to visit the blood bank more frequently. At the end of the day, people die in hospitals all the time due to a lack of good quality blood, and our bodies have the ability to replace any we lose in less than 24 hours, so there is really no excuse for not helping out.
Catch you next time!
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