Donate blood - save lives
Hello there!
So I went to give blood the other day. It was something I wanted to do for a while now. But I could never. The timing was never right. Well that is one other excuse. In reality, I was always lazy. Plus the unknown scared me. Can I give blood? Is my blood good enough? What is the process like? So many questions that I asked myself and which unknown answers crippled me. Plus for some reason, whenever there was a drive, I was always on my period.
Tee - Numero Uno
Printed skirt - Tailor made
Shoes - Class
Bag - thrifted
Earrings - Gift
Nevertheless, one Saturday morning a few weeks ago, I just went. I had heard about this blood donation on twitter. I did not have any excuses this time. The nearest place to give blood for me is the Centre National de Tranfusion Sanguine (National Blood Transfusion Center) which is located near the Fann Hostpital on University road. I arrived there before 12 noon. I was told to fill in a form with some basic information and questions about my health mainly if I had any illness, have had surgery in the past or if I had sex recently. After filling the form, I saw a doctor who asked me further questions. He also checked my blood pressure and made a blood test. I was to wait for the results of the test. Once they came back negative, I entered the blood donation room. I was welcomed by a nurse who install me in one of their chairs. She then asked me to make a fist and check for my veins. She put a huge needle in and drew blood.
She kept insisting I pump with my hand. The entire ordeal last less than 10 minutes. Once the blood pouch was filled, the nurse came back to remove the needle and put a bandaid on me. Then she asked to move on to the next room which was a make shitt restaurant. I was served with a sandwich and an orange juice. Coffee, tea and water was also availbale. I drank the orange juice and left the sandwich. I was not hungry. When I was done, I left.
Now let me give you some facts about donating blood.
Anybody between the age of 18 to 60 can donate blood. The person has to weigh more than 50 kg. A person can donate blood every three months. As a donor, you have to disclose all health related informations to the doctor. I was surprised when one doctor asked me if I had any white discharge recently. I did not see the immediate link between donating blood and white discharge. But he is the doctor so he knows better than me. The thing is not disclosing any illness can be dangerous for you as a donor. However they always take a sample of your blood to be tested before giving it away, particularly for AIDS and such. As a woman, I always thought that I could not donate blood during my period. Yet, the other day, I learned that it was possible. I probably need to do it if I am not bleeding heavily.
Donating blood is absolutely free. And it saves lives. Women who give birth, people who suffer from accidents or very sick people, there are plenty of people who need blood. It always saddens me when I hear that the blood bank is low. Or that so and so needs blood asap. While waiting for my results, I had a concersation with a very interesting man who works there. He told me that donating blood would make me young. He says that he looks and feels young because he donates regularly. I am not sure what is the correlation but I told him that he did not need to sell me on the idea. I was already in. He also said that the center lacked funds particularly to buy an ambulance or refrigerated truck that would allow them to go collect blood outside the center. He added that they lacked means to communicate on the importance of donating blood to the general population.
Not related but I really like these shoes..
...one could wear two ways.
This is my way of helping. I am urging anyone who is able bodied to go donate blood. If you are in Dakar, please go visit the center, it is open from monday to saturday from 8 am to 5 pm. The process is not complicated and does not take too long. Just imagine, your simple donation can save lives. So please go donate. As for me, now that I know how it works, I will go regularly. Actually if you become a regular blood donor, you get a card and even some award (which I find interesting)
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