Donor blood is a highly sought-after product. Transfusions of blood or blood components are required for most patients with trauma, burns, or during recovery from surgery, especially organ transplants and cesarean sections.
In addition, there are a number of diseases that require transfusions of blood, plasma, or certain blood cells.
The situation is complicated by a number of factors:
- There is a catastrophic shortage of donors in Russia. While the WHO norm is 40 donors per thousand people, in Russia this figure is only 14 people.
- When donating for the first time, the blood is quarantined for several months. Only if HIV and other dangerous infections are not detected in it during repeated analysis can donor blood be transfused to patients. For this reason, the surge in donations after large-scale accidents does not radically change the situation.
- Blood of the required type is not always available. For example, finding the fourth negative is very problematic: only 13% of people with group IV live in the world, of which people with negative Rh make up at most a couple of percent.
What is donated blood used for?
It is rarely poured in its pure form. Basically, patients require individual components and preparations based on human blood. Therefore, after collection, it is divided into components.
| Component | When and how is it used? |
| Whole blood | Demanded for large blood loss as a result of injuries or surgical interventions |
| Plasma | Necessary for patients with burns, weakened people and people with reduced immunity. Plasma contains many nutritional components and antibodies, so it can actually serve as a replacement for the immune system for those who have been taking immunosuppressive drugs for a long time, or who have a weakened immune system after serious treatment. |
| Red blood cells | Red blood cells. Necessary for patients with anemia, cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Red blood cells can be donated as a separate component. Typically, male donors with a strong build are selected for red blood cell donation. |
| Platelets | Cells responsible for blood clotting. They are transfused to patients with hemophilia, as well as those undergoing chemotherapy. |
| Granulocytes | A type of leukocyte - white blood cell. Transfused to patients with severe infections and infectious complications. Granulocytes are not stored for long: they can only be transfused within a few hours after donation. |
Who are the donors?
These are people who voluntarily donate their blood or its components for transfusion to other people.
There is also the concept of autodonation - components are taken from the person himself before a course of treatment or planned surgery.
After the intervention, the body is weakened, foreign cells are a great stress for it. Therefore, doctors insist on transfusion of the patient's own donor material in those cases where this is possible.
Donors can be one-time or permanent . The first donate blood once - help is needed for a relative, friend, or as assistance to victims of a large-scale accident. Regular donation involves several donations per year.
On average, the human body contains from 4.5 to 5.5 liters of blood. Its volume increases and decreases with fluctuations in body weight. You can take no more than 12% for one procedure. Typically a serving is 450 ml.
Benefits of donation:
- Regular free examinations are mandatory for donors,
- Social privileges and benefits,
- Opportunity to receive emergency medical care,
- Benefit for health. The blood is regularly renewed, while the body burns calories, blood vessels are maintained in tone,
- The opportunity to help other people and save someone's life.
But there are also restrictions in the life of a donor: they need to lead a healthy lifestyle, give up bad habits, eat properly and nutritiously, exercise, carefully monitor their health, and not take medications unnecessarily.
Who can become a donor and at what age can you donate blood?
Usually people over 18 years of age are allowed to donate. In Russia there is an age limit plus the requirement that a person be a citizen of the country. In other countries, it is allowed to donate blood and components from 16-17 years of age.
Donor requirements:
- Age over 18 years,
- Having a Russian citizen passport,
- Minimum weight – 50 kg,
- Absence of blood diseases, previous dangerous infections, oncology,
- No need to constantly take medications,
- A woman needs to be examined by a gynecologist to rule out pregnancy and infections. In the future, the donor woman needs to undergo regular preventive examinations,
- General level of health.
At the first delivery, a comprehensive analysis is carried out. A control sample is taken after 6 months. If both times the indicators are normal, the person is suitable for donation.
Women can donate blood no more than 4 times a year, men - no more than 5.
Until what age can you donate blood?
The maximum donor age is 60 years. In very old age, absolute health is very rare. Hypertension, which is diagnosed in the majority of Russian pensioners, is one of the contraindications to donating blood.
Blood tests for colds
Colds are very common diseases. Laboratory tests are often used to diagnose and select effective treatment methods for colds.
A blood test during the development of a cold is one of the most important studies; it helps to establish an accurate diagnosis. Based on the results of this study, the type of pathogen, the stage of development of the pathology is determined, and the general health of the patient is assessed.
For any respiratory disease, general blood and urine tests are required. If necessary, the doctor may prescribe biochemical and other types of tests.
Who should not be a donor?
The list of contraindications is quite long. People with serious blood diseases, oncology, or infections cannot donate blood at all. In addition, there are situations when a person has a temporary exemption from donation (for a period of one month to three years) due to past illnesses and other interventions.
In some cases, contraindications may be conditional. For example, if we are talking about urgently saving the life of a close relative with whom there is full compatibility - but the potential donor has a temporary allotment. If there is no alternative, the doctor can weigh the pros and cons and make an exception if the potential risk is not high.
Height and weight
Low or very high stature is not a contraindication, unless it is caused by a disease for which a person regularly takes hormonal medications.
Weight less than 50 kg is a contraindication. Such people have a harder time withstanding blood loss, even minor ones. Excess weight also imposes restrictions: it is usually associated with an unhealthy lifestyle or hormonal imbalance, which affects the condition and composition of blood cells.
Is it possible to do a blood test for hormones if you have a cold?
Hormonal pathologies are diagnosed in many people. Such patients require constant use of medications and periodic testing of hormone levels.
Colds always come unexpectedly. What to do if a person has a cold, but he needs to control his hormonal levels? Is it possible to take a hormone test if you have a cold?
It has been scientifically proven that a cold does not affect the results of a blood test for thyroid hormones. Thus, there are no special contraindications for conducting such studies.
But taking some medications can distort hormonal levels. When taking certain medications, the production of certain types of hormones may be blocked, which affects the results of the study.
In each specific case, the possibility of conducting examinations for hormones during the development of a cold is determined by the attending physician based on data on the general health of the patient and the prescribed therapy. The best option is to conduct examinations a few weeks after you feel better.
Temporary contraindications
They operate if there were situations in the life of a potential donor that could cause negative changes in the composition of the blood.
After a certain period of time and additional examination, they are removed, and the person can donate blood.
Time restrictions include:
- Previous non-dangerous infections without complications,
- Planned and unscheduled operations,
- Tattoos, piercings, acupuncture,
- Poisoning and intoxication,
- Exacerbation of chronic diseases, which in remission are not a contraindication,
- Vaccinations,
- Women in Russia are not allowed to donate blood during menstruation. In many countries this restriction does not apply,
- Deterioration of blood counts until health status stabilizes.
Blood chemistry
A biochemical blood test allows you to evaluate its qualitative composition. Thanks to this, the general condition and functions of the internal organs of the human body are assessed. The study allows us to identify certain pathologies in the initial stages. The sample for this test is taken from a vein only.
A mild form of ARVI has practically no effect on the analysis parameters. However, as the disease progresses to a severe form and the inflammatory process develops, some abnormalities may appear.
Blood biochemistry for colds is prescribed by the attending physician in case of a sharp deterioration in health. The results of this analysis help to obtain a more accurate picture of your health status and select effective treatment.
Is it possible to take a routine biochemical blood test if you have a cold to detect other diseases? In such a situation, it is necessary to take into account the nature of the therapy being performed.
Some medications taken during the treatment of a cold may affect the reliability of the results.
If a biochemical analysis must be carried out, then the doctor must know about the medications being taken and take into account the possible effect of this when interpreting the results.
Temporary contraindications to blood donation for regular donors
| Cause | Recusal period |
| ARVI, flu | 1 month after complete recovery |
| Tattoos and piercings | 1 year, admission after control analysis |
| Tooth extraction (without complications or associated infection) | 10 days |
| Childbirth | 1 year after birth, 3 months after lactation stops |
| Vaccinations | From 10 days to a year |
| Visiting countries with unfavorable infection situations | From 1 to 3 years with periodic monitoring of blood counts |
| Decreased hemoglobin levels | 6 months |
On the day of blood donation, a donor may be excluded if:
- He came to the procedure under the influence of alcohol or drugs,
- He has a fever and symptoms of fever,
- The day before he took medication,
- Eating fatty or spicy foods
- I did not have breakfast before the procedure.
For what diseases should you never be a donor?
Restrictions apply to:
- Active diseases, acute and chronic.
- Transferred in the past, but the blood contains components that can lead to infection of the recipient.
A complete contraindication to donation is the presence of:
- HIV and AIDS,
- Tuberculosis in any form,
- Infectious skin diseases, incl. you cannot donate blood if you have psoriasis,
- Diseases of the heart and blood vessels,
- Blood clotting disorders, diseases of the hematopoietic organs,
- Oncological processes (including transferred ones),
- Asthma,
- Alcoholism, drug addiction,
- Mental illnesses,
- Peptic ulcer disease,
- Liver diseases, including cirrhosis,
- Hepatitis,
- Kidney diseases,
- undergone operations to remove vital organs,
- The need for constant use of hormonal drugs,
- Purulent inflammatory processes,
- Parasitic diseases,
- Sexually transmitted infections.
The appearance of these diseases in a regular donor is a reason for lifelong cessation of blood donation, regardless of the donor's length of service.
What is the danger of low hemoglobin after donation?
A short-term and slight decrease in hemoglobin after blood sampling is quite normal. This is a variant of the body’s natural reaction. However, if the corresponding condition drags on, or if a significant fall occurs, you should be wary. A decrease in an important protein in the blood after collection may be associated with a disease or because the corresponding loss has triggered some destructive processes within the body.
Many donors, knowing that hemoglobin will decrease, do not pay attention to really serious symptoms. The result is a noticeable iron deficiency state. And it threatens donors, like all other people, with the following:
- worsening problems with the nervous system. Irritability, anxiety, and aggressiveness may begin to increase. In combination with other factors, this can periodically even lead to mental illness;
- disruption of the cardiovascular system. Low hemoglobin always means increased stress on it. In order for the blood to perform its transport function even with a reduced amount of this protein, the heart has to pump it faster. If this condition lasts longer, serious pathologies may occur. For example, heart failure;
- risk of developing chronic fatigue syndrome. Doctors have ambivalent assessments of this phenomenon; many are still arguing about whether it can be classified as an independent disease. Be that as it may, such an unpleasant and significantly worsening state of health still exists. And the risk of its occurrence with low hemoglobin is very high, since the body does not receive full recovery;
- metabolic disorders. Hemoglobin gives cells oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from them. In fact, it made breathing possible on a chemical level. And if problems begin here, then this can negatively affect the endocrine system and metabolism in general;
- dysfunction of internal organs. Oxygen starvation leads to failures. The brain suffers especially badly from it, but damage can be caused to any internal organ.
As you can see, the situation is quite serious. The existing dangers cannot be underestimated. This means that as soon as hemoglobin begins to fall, you need to consult a doctor. And with a high degree of probability you will need to work on raising the corresponding protein in the blood.
Restrictions for men
Men who:
- Lead an unhealthy lifestyle
- Regularly smoke or drink alcohol,
- suffered from venereal diseases,
- Had homosexual contacts. This is due to the risk of infection of the patient’s already weakened body with immunodeficiency and hepatitis C viruses, which are common among homosexual men.
Insufficient or overweight and taking steroids also limit a man’s ability to act as a donor.
Contraindications for women
Women can be donors just like men, but they have many more physiological contraindications. First of all, the restrictions apply to those whose weight is less than 50 kg and whose blood pressure is below 90/60.
Previous operations to remove the uterus or ovaries due to inflammation or neoplasms are a complete contraindication.
You cannot donate blood to women with a history of endometriosis. Anemia may be a temporary limitation: once the hemoglobin level normalizes, you can donate blood.
| Cause | Recusal period |
| Menstruation | 5 days from the start of the cycle |
| Pregnancy | For the entire period |
| Childbirth | 1 year |
| Lactation | 3 months after termination |
| Abortion | six months |
How to quickly increase hemoglobin in the blood
How to quickly increase hemoglobin in the blood, without resorting to medication if possible? This question interests every person throughout his life.
After all, anemia, especially in our time, is a very common phenomenon.
What is hemoglobin, what function does it perform in the body, what is its norm and what factors does it depend on? Let's look at the symptoms of anemia, the causes of its occurrence and methods of dealing with this not very pleasant phenomenon.
Hemoglobin norm and causes of anemia
In laboratory blood tests, hemoglobin is considered very important and can indicate the presence of various problems.
It is important to know what the norm of this protein is and what it depends on:
For men, 130-160 g/l is considered normal.
- For women it is slightly lower due to the physiological characteristics of the body - 120-150 g/l.
- For pregnant women and nursing mothers – 110-130g/l, which is associated with the period of bearing a child and breastfeeding, when the baby consumes a lot of iron from the woman’s body.
- In children of the first year of life - 90-135 g/l, and this figure varies even within one month and more or less returns to normal from the moment complementary feeding begins, gradually rising to a higher level.
Deviations from the norm in one direction or another require a thorough analysis of the person’s condition and finding out the reason for the decrease or increase in hemoglobin levels.
The symptoms will be as follows:
- fatigue, drowsiness, loss of strength;
- decreased memory acuity;
- headaches and dizziness;
- “spots” and darkening in the eyes, especially when standing up suddenly;
- cracks in the corners of the lips, reminiscent of jams, which do not heal for a very long time;
- dryness and pallor of the skin;
- fragility, dryness and flaking of hair and nails;
- loss of visual acuity;
- changes in taste and olfactory preferences;
- cold extremities even in warm weather or in a warm room.
To be fair, elevated hemoglobin levels can produce some similar symptoms. That is why a blood test must be done.
Before looking for the answer to the question of how to quickly increase hemoglobin, you need to find the cause of this phenomenon.
