Blood Donation: Benefits and Eligibility

Blood donation is a noble deed that brings health benefits while saving lives. It’s often advised that blood donation should be a regular exercise every 3 months. Though there aren’t too many home collection centres, nearest blood donation camps can be easily located. You can also donate your blood at the nearest hospital.

Why donate blood?

Well, primarily and obviously because: you are helping save lives. India was short of 1.9 million units of blood during 2017-18. A single donation can save up to three lives.

Additionally, it also brings health benefits to the donor. Regular blood donation reduces blood viscosity thereby significantly lowering the chances of heart attack. Studies have shown that apart from viscosity, it also lowers mean total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol safe-guarding you against cardio-vascular diseases. High iron stores are also linked to heart attacks, blood donation lowers iron stores too.

Who can donate blood?

Though it is indeed a noble deed, not everyone is allowed to donate blood. Before donation, it is advisable that you avail health checkup packages to ascertain normalcy of your: blood pressure, temperature, pulse, blood type, Hb count (12.5 g) and body weight (45 kg at least). You also need to fall into the age group of 18-60.

You cannot donate blood if you have the following conditions: cancer, heart disease, abnormal bleeding tendencies, unexplained weight loss, diabetes-controlled by insulin, hepatitis infection, chronic nephritis, AIDS, liver disease, tuberculosis, Polycythemia Vera, asthma, epilepsy, leprosy, schizophrenia, and endocrine disorders.

In case you suspect that you suffer from any of the above conditions, make sure that you get these covered in your health checkup package.

You will have to defer donation in certain cases: abortions – 6 months, history of Blood transfusion – 6 months, surgery – 12 months, typhoid – 12 months after recovery, history of malaria and duly treated – 3 months (endemic) and 3 years (non-endemic area), tattoo – 6 months, breastfeeding – 12 months after delivery, immunization (cholera, typhoid, diphtheria, tetanus, plague, gammaglobulin) – 15 days, rabies vaccination – 1 year after vaccination, history of Hepatitis in family or close contact – 12 months, and immunoglobulin – 12 months.

So do not delay in locating an organisation that offers home collection centres or visit the nearest hospital to save lives by donating blood.

Do You Really Want To Go For The Checkups?

Generally, human beings have a tendency to leave everything for emergency situations. Till the time they don’t feel or witness a problem in their health, they don’t make efforts to know the cause or to have a thorough examination of their health. Actually, it is very necessary to go for health checkups to keep a tab on your current well-being. 

It’s crucial to find out time in their busy schedules to visit the doctor or medical centers to be in their pink of health or to identify any kind of issue in the beginning itself. Health checkups are necessary to be done even in the absence of any kind of symptoms.  

Before going for checkups or tests, the person needs to understand even the minute details related to the Diagnostic Services. It’s better to consult the doctor once before going for the checkup for heads-up. Sometimes, the doctors advise not to eat anything solid for about 24 hours to perform certain tests, while sometimes, they ask the patients to drink lots of water beforehand. So, ask for such kind of specifications before you go for the much needed checkup.

Following are some of the most important checkups or vaccinations that people go for:

• Breast and cervical cancer early detection test
• Cholesterol test
• Blood sugar test
• Colorectal cancer screening
• HIV/AIDS
• Blood pressure test
• Oral health for adults
• Prostate cancer screening
• Viral hepatitis
• Immunization schedules

A person needs to visit a pathology lab or a health care provider that offer diagnostic services to get the tests/examinations/vaccinations done. One needs to make sure that the lab or the hospital has the following facilities before going for the tests:

• State-of-the-art facilities
• Modern tools and equipment
• Experienced staff
• Hygienic environment

Most importantly, the labs that render Diagnostic Services are also required to check the reports on different levels for its accuracy and need to keep the reports as confidential. 

By considering the importance of checkups, one can only come to the conclusion that yes, it is really necessary to go for them!      

How to Decide on the Best Pathology Lab for Your Health Tests

How to decide on the best pathology lab for your health tests from Scientific Pathology

Choosing an ideal and best pathology lab for your health tests should not be taken without due consideration. Apart from the pricing, there are a lot of other significant factors, you must notice before you settle down for one of the pathology lab.