Last month it was revealed that almost 40,000 pints of blood were wasted in Northern Ireland in the last five years.
According to the investigative website The Detail
since 2012, around 250,000 pints of blood were delivered to NI hospitals, but almost 15% of those were recorded as wasted due to technical reasons such as faults in storage or expiration.
It is estimated that approximately three lives can be saved for every pint of blood donated, and with around 64,000 blood donations made in Northern Ireland annually, you would think we are well stocked.
However, the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service has said they need 8,000 new donors annually to meet demand.
If you are thinking of donating blood, here are 5 things you need to know about transfusions:
1. Criteria
There are strict eligibility criteria for those who donate blood. You must be fit and healthy, be between the ages of 17 and 66, and weigh between 7 stone 12lbs and 25 stone. For more eligibility criteria, go to blood.co.uk/who-can-give-blood/.
2. Uses
Many people think blood transfusions only occur when people have been involved in an accident or are having surgery, but blood donations have many vital uses including: supporting the treatment of cancer patients, treating people with autoimmune diseases, and even giving newborn babies who require it an emergency platelet transfusion in the first few moments of life. Platelets have a shelf life of just five days, so blood donations are required all year long.
3. It’s good for you
The American Journal of Epidemiology found that blood donors are a massive 88% less likely to have a heart attack. Doctor Phillip DeChristopher, Director of Loyola University Health System Blood Bank said: “What is clear is that blood donors seem to not be hospitalised as soften, and when they are, they have shorter lengths of stay. They’re also less likely to get heart attacks, strokes, and cancers.”
4. Longer life
A study in Health Psychology found that people who donated blood for altruistic reasons had a significantly reduced mortality risk four years later than those who donated for other reasons, indicating that donating blood as a method of “doing good” for others can help you live longer!
5. Worldwide
Over 168 countries have a system in place to collect blood donations, and June 14 is World Blood Donor Day.