NCORD Sanjeevan Blood Bank

Experiments with blood transfusions, the transfer of blood or blood components into a person's blood stream, have been carried out for hundreds of years. Many patients have died and it was not until 1901, when the Austrian Karl Landsteiner discovered human blood groups, that blood transfusions became safer.

Mixing blood from two individuals can lead to blood clumping or agglutination. The clumped red cells can crack and cause toxic reactions. This can have fatal consequences. Karl Landsteiner discovered that blood clumping was an immunological reaction which occurs when the receiver of a blood transfusion has antibodies against the donor blood cells.

Karl Landsteiner's work made it possible to determine blood groups and thus paved the way for blood transfusions to be carried out safely. For this discovery he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930.

• Red blood cells live about 120 days in the circulatory system.
• Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body's organs and tissues.
• While cells are the body's primary defense against infection.
• By donating just one pint of blood, 3 lives can be saved.

• Whole Blood
• Blood from which no constituent, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, or platelets, has been removed is known an Whole Blood. Whole blood is commonly obtained through blood donation and can be transfused directly after testing or broken down into blood components that can be transfused separately.
• What is blood made up of?
• An adult human has about 4-6 liters of blood circulating in the body. Among other things, blood transports oxygen to various part of the body.
• Blood consists of Different types of cells floating around in fluid called plasma.
• The red blood cells contain hemoglobin, a protein that binds oxygen. Red blood cells transport oxygen to, and remove carbon dioxide from, the body tissues.
• The white blood cells fight infection.
• The platelets help the blood to clot, if you get a wound for example.
• The plasma contains salts and various kinds of proteins.

The donor's blood type must be determined if the blood will be used for transfusions. The collecting agency usually identifies whether the blood is type A,B,AB and O and the donor's Rh (D) type and will screen for antibodies to less common antigens. More testing, including a cross match, is usually done before a transfusion. Group O is often cited as the "universal donor "but this only refers to red cell transfusions. For plasma transfusions the system is reversed and AB is the universal donor type.

Most blood is tested for diseases, including some STDs. The tests used are high-sensitivity screening tests and no actual diagnosis is made. Some of the test results are later found to be false positives using more specific testing. False negatives are rare, but donors are discouraged from using blood donation for the purpose of anonymous STD screening because a false negative could mean a contaminated unit. The blood is usually discarded if these tests are positive, but there are some exceptions, such as autologous donations. The donor is generally notified of the test result.

Donated blood is tested by many methods, but the core tests recommended by the World Health Organization are these four:

• Hepatitis B Surface Antigen
• Antibody to Hepatitis C
• Antibody to HIV, usually subtypes 1 and 2
• Serologic test for Syphilis

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Who can Donate?

• Aged between 18 and 60 years
• If you are not already given blood in last 3 Months
• If you are not Pregnant or a women with baby less then 1 year
• If you have not had Hepatitis / Malaria jaundice in the last 12 month
• If you are not HIV positive
• If you have not taken Live Vaccines for Polio, Typhoid, Measils, Rubella, Mumps with in last 21 days from the date of vaccination
• More details will be given be doctor before blood donation