Square Transfusion Medicine Centre

Blood donation: A lifesaving gift

About 600,000 units of blood is required yearly in Bangladesh ( BTSB). Some may need blood during obstetric, orthopaedic, accident, surgical procedure and others depend on it because they have a disease that requires blood or blood components such as malignancies, thalasemia, haemophilia. Though the demand for blood is high and one third of Bangladeshis are eligible to donate the blood, only about 1% of those eligible to give blood do so.

Find out if you’re eligible to donate blood and what to expect if you decide to donate.

Who can donate blood?

You can donate blood if you:

• Are in good health
• Are at least 18 years old
• Weigh at least 50 kg.
• Physical and health history assessment.

SQUARE Hospitals Ltd. Transfusion Medicine centre carefully screens potential donors. Screening guidelines are necessary to ensure that blood donation is safe for you and that it is safe for the person who receives your blood.

During the screening process:

• You will be asked a confidential medical history that includes direct question about behaviours known to carry a high risk of blood born infections including drug history.
• A doctor will ask you about your health history and conduct a physical examination, which includes checking your blood pressure, pulse and temperature
• All of the information from this evaluation is kept strictly confidential.

If you have met all screening requirements, you can donate blood.

You can donate blood voluntarily for a specific patient or to The Transfusion Medicine Center (Blood Bank) SQUARE Hospital Ltd.

The Process of Donation

You will be sitting in a reclining chair with your arm extended on an arm rest. A blood pressure cuff or tourniquet will be placed around your inner arm to make the veins prominent and easy to insert a sterile needle. This needle is attached to a thin plastic tube and a blood bag. Measured amount of blood (450 ml ) will be taken into the blood bag.

What can you expect after blood donation?

After donating blood in SQUARE Hospitals Ltd. Transfusion Medicine Center (Blood Bank ) you are requested to take rest and eat a light snacks at Donor observation area. After 15 minutes, you can leave.                     

Post Donation Advices 

   For 24 hours after your blood donation:

• Drink extra fluids 
• Avoid lifting with the arm used during your donation
• Avoid strenuous exercise 
• Avoid taking aspirin or ibuprofen  

You may experience an upset stomach or feel lightheaded or dizzy after donating blood .In the event of feeling these symptoms you should quickly sit down & lower your head.  These symptoms usually go away after eating a meal and drinking fluids. 

The Collected unit of blood is processed into components (the blood is separated into parts) such as:  

• Red Blood cells
• Plasma
• Platelet
• Platelet rich plasma
• Cryoprecipitate

      Each of these can then be given to people who need different blood components. Your blood donation can help up to many people.

      You can donate Platelets by Apheresis which is available at SQUARE Hospital Ltd Transfusion Medicine Centre. For a patient Apheresis Platelets require a single donor whereas 4-6 donors required for random donor platelets (RDP).

What types of tests are done on the blood?

After donation, your blood is tested:

• To determine your blood type- classified as A, B, AB and O  and your Rh factor. Incase of Rh D negative case, Confirmation with Especial Gel cards and weak D test is done.
• Certain infectious diseases can pass from the donor to the person receiving the blood. To prevent infections, each unit of blood is tested for diseases such as syphilis, hepatitis and AIDS. If all tests are negative- the blood is stored at a certain temperature in a special refrigerator or distributed for use in hospital. 

If any test shows positive results, the blood bank notifies you, and your blood is discarded and not used.

What are the risks?

Blood donation is safe. New, sterile, disposable equipment is used in SQUARE Hospitals Ltd.  for each donor.

If you are a healthy adult, you can usually donate 1 bag (450 ml) of blood without it endangering your health. Within 24 hours of a blood donation, your body replaces the lost fluid and after several weeks, your body replaces the lost red blood cells.

But as it is an invasive procedure there is a very little chance of having 

• Extravasations of blood (Haematoma )  
• Vasovagal Syncope ( More with empty stomach ) 

How often you can donate blood?

If  you are in good health  and meet all the donation criteria, you can donate blood every 4 months in case of  Whole Blood Donation, in case of Apheretic Platelet donation a donor can donate 24 times/year depending on HB% & Platelet count.