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International University of Nursing |
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Citizens in the Federation are encouraged by local medical professionals to give regular blood donations. At a blood drive held in the Human Simulation Lab of the International University of Nursing (IUON) on Saturday, July 10, Joseph N. France Hospital’s (JNF) Laboratory Manager Jasmin Handley called for more civic participation in regard to donating a pint of the precious resource.
“We would like to have more people volunteer,” she said. “It is the gift of life and we would appreciate it if people don’t wait until it is a relative that might need blood.”
The drive was organized by the local Student Nurses Association, in association with the Human Simulation Lab, JNF’s Phlebotomy Lab, and the Rotary Club of Liamuiga. The lab was open for donations from members of the public between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
According to Handley, approximately 15 persons provided blood, slightly below expectation level, but adequate to present needs because the hospital is currently well stocked, plasma-wise.
As is usually the case in a blood drive, O-negative, the ‘universal donor’ blood type was the most sought after, but lab assistants and student volunteers also looked forward to receiving donations from O-positives, and types A or B, positive or negative.
Would-be donors were required to register, have their vital signs and blood type taken, and then receive counseling to see if it was possible to give blood. There are a number of restrictions, and from information provided by IUON Nursing Professor Dr. Agnes Beachman, involve persons who:
- Have a history of hepatitis
- Are over 65
- Are subject to chronic illness requiring medication
- Use blood thinners
- Have extremes of blood pressure
- Suffer from anemia
- Have Sickle Cell Anemia, or carry the trait
- Have given blood within the past 90 days, and
- Have had any tattoos done within the past year
All those who wished to donate were screened for the noted disqualifying factors, as well as for the presence of sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV. Blood disorders, like Hepatitis-B, can be inadvertently transmitted through receiving a tattoo or an ear piercing.
Limitations on donating are also occasionally enforced based on current events.
“Last year, persons from England were restricted from donations because of the Mad Cow issue there,” informed Lab Assistant Verena Pointer.
Teri Boese, director of the Human Simulation Lab, provided the overall scope for the blood drive.
“Its one of the things that the Student Nurses Association does to give back to the island,” she said. “They assist in collecting blood once a semester, then JNF will collect and keep all of the blood.”
At JNF, the blood collected is utilized for both emergency and elective surgeries. Blood is a perishable commodity, lasting for at most 35 days, so supplies must be consistently replenished.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately one percent of a nation’s population has to give blood to collect enough for the basic transfusion needs. However, WHO states that donations currently fall below the needed rate in 77 countries, and that roughly half of global blood donations are collected in developed nations, home to only 16 percent of the world’s population.
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