According to the American Red Cross, there is a total of 3% of Americans who donate blood regularly. This can be done by people voluntarily without having to collect any payment out of it. Those who want to donate blood should be under careful screening and interview. Likewise, they should be older than 18 years old without having a weight lower than 110lbs. The blood collected is stored in blood banks for future needs. However, before donating blood, it might be a good idea to check out the pros and cons associated with it.
List of Pros of Donating Blood
1. This Can Help Others
This is good way to help others in need of blood transfusion. Lots of patients require some amounts of blood after severe blood loss or those who have undergone extreme medical operations.
2. Renewable Supply
The supply of blood in the body is renewable which renews itself within the body. So, donating blood is not a loss as it can be recovered eventually.
3. Free Gifts
Those who volunteer to become blood donors will receive some gifts, such as free t-shirts and free coupons.
4. Health Benefits
There is a variety of health benefits from blood donation. For instance, it can reduce blood cholesterol levels and sheds some calories off. Likewise, when the body loses some blood cells after donation, the bone marrow will be stimulated to produce new supply of fresh blood to replace the cells that were lost.
List of Cons of Donating Blood
1. Can Be Painful
The moment you decide to donate blood, you will certainly feel the needle to puncture into your veins. So while some people find this as a discomfort, others actually fear the sight of needles. In fact, others fear the sight of blood.
2. Causes Weakness
After blood donation, a person can feel dizzy or may faint. These are just common symptoms after giving out some amount of blood. The feelings though will eventually disappear after the blood lost will be recovered by the body. Energy levels will be boosted though after taking some snacks in which a blood donation center will provide.
3. Increases the Paperwork
People donate blood for certain reasons, particularly when a patient require so after a surgical operation. For this reason, parents or close relatives of patients will be the ones who will donate blood in order to prevent anonymous donors. Nevertheless, anonymous or otherwise, they will still undergo strict screenings to identify safer blood transfusion. But, relatives may be required to process more paperwork than those who do it anonymously.
Final Thoughts
A series of checkups will be undergone by the donor. Part of the checkup will include tests for transmittable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B/C, malaria, and syphilis. Those who fail the tests given by the donation center will not be accepted as a blood donor. If you haven’t donated blood ever since, then learning about the pros and cons should be helpful to determine if you really are bold enough to give it a try.
Brandon Miller has a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a seasoned writer who has written over one hundred articles, which have been read by over 500,000 people. If you have any comments or concerns about this blog post, then please contact the Green Garage team here.