Donating Blood
	Why become a blood donor? Every day hospitals use blood or blood components to treat patients with serious conditions such as cancer, leukaemia, or to allow surgery such as hip replacement to be performed.  Only five per cent of the population donate blood and the need for blood is ever increasing as modern medicine and surgery advances.  If you are a healthy, weigh over 8st and aged 17 to 65 (maximum 60 for first time donors) you should be able to donate blood every four months without any adverse effects.  What happens when a person gives blood? You must have eat within a few hours before attending the blood donor session.  All donors will receive a questionnaire to be completed before their blood is taken. These questions are designed to ensure that you will not be harmed by giving blood and that a patient would not be harmed by receiving your blood. You may be interviewed by a nurse who will go through the questionnaire with you.  Certain diseases and medicines can be harmful to those receiving the blood. In particular the questions are asked to prevent transmission of infection, which includes diseases such as HIV (AIDS), malaria, glandular fever and even the common cold.  Sometimes you may be told that you cannot donate that day, for example if you have a cold or have recently had a tattoo or had your ears pierced. The nurses will tell you when to return - please do. The next stage is the haemoglobin test to tell if you are anaemic. A few drops of blood are taken from a prick in your finger and dropped into a coloured solution. If you pass this test you can donate a pint of blood.  A needle is inserted in a vein at the elbow and it takes about 10 to 15 minutes for the blood to be taken. All the needles used are sterile and cannot transmit infection.  After giving blood you should relax for a further 10 minutes. You will be given something to eat and drink before leaving the blood donor session. Your blood will then be tested for blood groups and certain infectious diseases before it can go to the hospital for transfusion How much blood will I lose?  A donation is 450ml (just under one pint) and the average adult's body contains eight to ten pints of blood. The body will quickly replace the blood it has lost.  How often can a person give blood?  Normally not more than every 16 weeks. This will allow your blood time to build up its stores of iron before your next donation. What do blood donors get out of it?  The satisfaction of knowing that they may have saved someone's life. Remember you may rely on a blood donation yourself someday. Some studies have even suggested that blood donors live longer.