10 Facts About Blood Donation

10 simple facts about blood donation to encourage more donors.

Blood donation has become an important part of health care programmes around the world. Blood donations are used in standard operations as well as life-saving emergencies, in cancer research, transplant operations and full transfusions for those who suffer from organ diseases. Here are 10 facts about blood donation:

1) What is a blood donation? A donation takes about 10 minutes, with a few forms and questions to answer before donating the whole process takes only an hour out of your time. You will donate about a pint of blood at each visit, this consists of whole blood which contains platelets. Platelets circulate in the blood and help the blood clotting process. The blood you donate can only be kept for a few days and is usually in use within 24 to 48 hours of your donation.

2) How many US donors are there? Less than 40% of the US population is eligible to donate, however, out of those who are eligible, less than 10% donate!! So in the answer to the question – not enough!

3) What are blood groups? Blood is differentiated into groups and into positive and negative Rhesus factors. The groups are: A, B, AB and O, these can be Rhesus negative or Rhesus positive, with group O being the most common donor group. Blood groups are identified by the antigens and antibodies present in the blood. Antigens are usually protein molecules found on the surface of red blood cells. Antibodies are found in the plasma. They are the blood’s natural defence against any foreign antigens.

The ABO system

Blood group A has A antigens in its red blood cells and anti-B antibodies in its plasma.
Group B has B antigens and anti-A antibodies in its plasma.
Group O blood has no antigens but both anti-A and anti-B antibodies. It is the most common blood group.
Group AB has both A and B antigens but no antibodies, as it would destroy itself.
The Rhesus system
The red blood cells sometimes have another antigen, a protein called the Rhesus factor. If this antigen is present, your blood group is Rhesus positive. If it is absent, you are Rhesus negative. This means that you can be one of eight blood groups:

A RhD positive (A+),
A RhD negative (A-),
B RhD positive (B+),
B RhD negative (B-),
O RhD positive (O+),
O RhD negative (O-),
AB RhD positive (AB+),
AB RhD negative (AB-)
4) What are blood donations used for? Approximately 2.7 pints of blood is used for an average transfusion. Anemic patients need blood transfusions to increase their number of red blood cells, patients with sickle cell disease require numerous blood transfusions, children with cancer, premature infants and children having heart surgery all require blood transfusions during procedures as do mothers giving birth with complications. There is no substitute for human blood, therefore it is important for more people to donate a small amount of their time to something so important.

5) How does the body recover after giving a donation? You will be told to drink plenty of fluids after donating, your body will then be able to replace the fluid you have lost within hours. The red blood cells which contain iron will take about 4 weeks to replace, however, by eating iron-rich foods before and after the donation you can assist the process. Foods such as spinach, cereals, red meat (although this should be eaten in moderation) and dried apricots are all high in natural iron content, drinking orange or grapefruit juice or taking Vitamin C supplements with iron rich food will help your body absorb the iron more readily. As long as you are healthy and eat well there should be no adverse affects from the donation and your body will recover rapidly. A healthy adult should be able to donate 3 times a year without any problems.

6) Why don’t more people donate? People who don’t donate give various reasons; including not having enough time and ‘not having thought about it’. But just think, it could be you who needs that blood transfusion one day, even if it is from purely selfish motives, donating blood should be something you do at least once a year. Those who do donate do so from altruistic motives because they want to help others. Skip that movie to donate, you could go with your partner or friends to donate together.

7) Where does blood come from? Blood cells are made in the bone marrow. Red blood cells contain haemoglobin, a protein which contains iron. Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body. White blood cells make up the defence system of the body and are carried around the body so that they can be transported to the site of infection. The bone marrow produces five different white cells which either attack bacteria or produce antibodies to attack infections. Platelets are also produced in the bone marrow, these help clot the blood to stop people bleeding to death. All three types of blood cell are carried around the body in plasma, a clear liquid made up of water and salts.

Do shortages of blood supply occur? Yes shortages occur during the major holidays during the summer and winter. There are two reasons for this: 1) People are busy with family and friends or travelling to see others and do not have the time to donate. 2) While more people are on the move, accidents are more likely to happen. Therefore donors are unavailable at the same time that more donations are needed. If you already donate, make sure to do so before you go away on holiday, if you don’t donate please try to make the holiday donation the one that is important.

9) Is there any other way to help blood centres than donating? – I don’t like needles! All blood donation services need support in other ways too. You can help by fund-raising, help to publicize events and donation drives, even speaking to your children about blood donation. What about getting your company involved? There is a lot of useful information available about blood donation centres and ways you can get involved without going near a needle.

10) Do donors get paid for their blood donation? NO. Donors do not get paid for donating their blood, this means that voluntary donations are safe for both donor and recipient. As a donor I am looked after very well and enjoy my squash drink and biscuit after making my donation. Staff are always courteous and hard-working. I see it as a privilege to be able to work with these people. By making blood priceless we are keeping it healthy for everybody.

How to Stop Addictive Habits

This advice will help you to stop bad habits or habits you have been struggling to stop.

It is a fact that habits kills. This is one of area of human life acquired character that is very difficult to control and stop. Another basic truth about bad habit is that it is easy to acquire but very difficult to stop. In this article I will highlight five measures to stop addictive habits. Though it might seem uneasy at the first time but with practice you will stop it.

The measures highlighted in this article can work for all types of bad habits. And remember that one of the factors that will really help you to stop bad habit is for you to make up your mind. That is the only way that change can come.

Change of mind and willingness to stop

Like I said earlier, the first step is to make your mind that you actually want to leave the habit. There are some people that do no want to change from their bad habit or rather feel there is nothing bad about it. This set of people can not be helped.

See reason why you have to change


Until you have a reason to stop bad habit, you will not be able to do it. Just highlight some of the reason why you feel that your present habit is bad.

Know that you can not change unconsciously


You know that stopping habit is not easy, so you must take conscious effort to correct it. With time you will be able to do it unconsciously.

In summary, there are so many factors that may help to change from bad habit, but all these bothers on the factors started in this write up.

Top Five Fitness Trends for 2010

Here are the top five fitness trends for 2010 based on a survey done by the American College of Sports medicine among fitness professionals across the globe.

5. The stability ball bounces back
Take out that old stability ball from your closet. Throw it back into your regular workout routine to help you increase muscle strengths, tone core muscle groups and achieve better balance.

4. Pilates power
Pilates remains a favorite because it can be done without expensive equipment and can easily be learned and perfected after a few sessions. It trains the core muscles and improves flexibility and posture.

3. Personal trainers
More fitness enthusiasts will require the assistance of personal trainers who give professional suggestions and opinions regarding exercise programs.

2. Sport-specific training

Who says you can’t kick balls or shoot hoops during the off season? Athletes and sports enthusiasts engaging in their favorite sports in the off-season have an advantage because they build their strength and endurance.

1. Strength training

Weight lifting remains a top fitness trend for both men and women. However, its purpose is no longer limited to body sculpting or body building as more people have started to lift weights simply to increase and maintain strength as they get older.

13 Health Benefits of Lemon

Many people habitually love the tartly savor of lemon juice in their dishes. But have you ever wondered that you can put this lemon juice to lots of more superior uses than this? Yes! There are massive benefits of lemon juice and water in our daily life. You just need to arm yourself with significant facts and you would quickly start valuing this combination more than ever.


Many people habitually love the tartly savor of lemon juice in their dishes. But have you ever wondered that you can put this lemon juice to lots of more superior uses than this? Yes! There are massive benefits of lemon juice and water in our daily life. You just need to arm yourself with significant facts and you would quickly start valuing this combination more than ever.

Lemon is an economical, easily accessible citrus fruit, popular for its culinary and medicinal uses. It is used to prepare a range of food recipes such as lemon cakes, lemon chicken and beverages like lemonade and lemon-flavored drinks. It is also used for garnishing. Lemon juice consists of about 5% citric acid that gives a tartly savor to lemon. Lemon is a wealthy basis of vitamin C.
There are thirteen health benefits of Lemon are as follows:

Ø Good for stomach

Ø Acts as a blood purifier

Ø Good for treating Rheumatism

Ø Assist in curing Respiratory Disorders

Ø Controls High Blood Pressure

Ø A teaspoon of lemon juice in half a glass of water relieves heartburn


Ø Good for Weight Loss

Ø Excellent for Skin Care

Ø Aids in Dental Care

Ø Cures Throat Infections

Ø Reduces Fever

Ø The diseases like cholera or malaria can be treated with lemon water as it can act as a blood purifier

Ø In cases of hemorrhage, lemon juice diluted in water and taken as cold as possible will stop it