Only 4% Of The UK Donates Blood
Do you know someone that gives blood?
Well it is quite likely that you don't know someone as only 4% of the UK gives blood.
However, 35% of the UK said that they would be more likely to give blood if a family member or friend was in need of it. We will be able to save lives, so why wouldn't we?
If I offered you a free biscuit, would you take it? I would.
If I offered you a free soft drink of your choice, would you take it? I would.
If I offered you your favourite magazine for free, would you take it? I would.
Well, you will be able to get all of these if you decide to give blood and on top of all of that you can save lives, not just one or two but three! You can donate blood very easily through the Welsh Blood Service.
This short and pain free way of saving a life starts off by a few questions, for example, have you eaten, are you well today and have you taken medication recently. Once they feel it is suitable for you to donate on that day they will test your blood and then in a pain free way they will take one unit of blood, which is about one pint, and it roughly takes 10 minutes.
When we can all give blood we really should because 8,000 pints of blood are needed each day in the UK. One of the main reasons that people need blood is if they're in a major car collision, as some people can be so badly hurt that they just can't possibly re-produce enough blood to keep them alive and even though we only have 10 pints of blood in our bodies they can need up to 60 pints because they can't keep it in them.
Now let me ask you a question - if you had ten slices of pizza and someone was dying of hunger and you could save them by giving them one slice, would you? Imagine that but in pints of blood, remember it is only one of ten pints of blood.
I ask you now if you could bring back the dead, would you? Well don't let people go to the die through lack of blood and then we wouldn't have to bring them back. We will be able to save lives, so why wouldn't we? Thank you!
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Image Credit: Tony Webster (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
5 Comments – Post a comment
sean123
Commented 11 months ago - 27th May 2015 - 12:36pm
My dad actually works for the Welsh Blood Service as you already know and he has told me that there is a risk that diseases can be overlooked in some people's blood, meaning that when blood is transfused, people can become terminally ill. What is your opinion on this?
Sam Sprout (Editor)
Commented 11 months ago - 27th May 2015 - 12:48pm
Interesting stuff and thanks for sharing, it's been a while since I donated blood, something I have to rectify and I do miss the free biscuits.
@Sean123 - if the person donating blood is unaware that they have an illness and it can't be picked up during testing then what can be done? I think it's a risk that has to be taken as the impact of having no blood donations would mean that most surgery couldn't go ahead.
According to the Welsh Blood Service - "We test every donation, every time, no matter how many times you have given blood. We test for the following, HIV (the AIDS virus), Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, HTLV (Human T Lymphotropic Virus) and Syphilis."
sean123
Commented 11 months ago - 27th May 2015 - 13:12pm
@Sam Sprout, what would happen is that the person's blood (the person who doesn't know they have an illness) would be transfused to a patient after testing and if it does have an illness which has been overlooked, then the patient will sadly get the illness and when this happens, the patient can sue the NHS for a lot of money, depending on if it is life changing or not but people have had this happen to them and they have received approximately £10,000 in compensation, maybe even more. The person who donated the blood will then be alerted by the NHS that they have an illness because the NHS will know who donated the blood to the patient. They do test every donation that they receive but there is a risk that it can get overlooked which means that sadly, the patient will get the illness. The blood is stored in huge fridges at the Welsh Blood Service in Llantrisant and someone is always on standby in case of an emergency. In an emergency, the person on standby (who often lives locally) will drive to the Welsh Blood Service, unlock the building, get the needed amount of blood and they will drive it to the hospital. If it is a real emergency, an ambulance will be called and they will pick it up and drive it back to the hospital with flashing lights.
Sam Sprout (Editor)
Commented 11 months ago - 27th May 2015 - 14:15pm
@Sean123 So what are you suggesting? That we shouldn't donate blood as there's a small risk that someone could develop an illness? Mistakes occur in every walk of life, as long as there are measures in place and the procedures are constantly reviewed then we have to accept that this is a risk we take, so that we can benefit from all the good that blood donations allow.
sean123
Commented 11 months ago - 27th May 2015 - 15:35pm
@Sam Sprout, I am suggesting that we should donate blood, but that we should be aware of the risks that could potentially shorten someone's life. The risk does have to be taken and I know that donating blood does save a lot of people's lives but people who donate blood need to know that they could be in for a shock when they receive a letter in the post saying that they have an illness and also the patients need to be aware that they could become ill if they receive infected blood. As technology becomes better, then the risk of overlooking serious illnesses in people's blood will decrease but at the moment, there is still a fair risk that someone may give blood with an illness and it could be overlooked.