Donate blood

Nazmus Saquib, Dept. of English, Stamford University, Dhanmondi, Dhaka
Every year, more than 4 millions lives are saved worldwide, thanks to voluntary blood donation by people. In our country as well, there are many generous people who donate blood regularly. Despite that, many of us do not actually know the importance of donating blood and some even fear that blood donation might be harmful for health. In fact every physically fit 18+ adult can donate blood at least twice a year. At the time of donation, only 350ml of blood is taken. An average person has 5-6 litres of blood in the body. In terms of volume the loss is corrected in 24-48 hours by the body. The red cell count is corrected in about 56 days. So the health of the donor will not suffer because of the blood donation. A few days ago, my friend's sister died because of non-availability of blood. Her blood group was AB- but we were unable to collect enough blood for her despite our sincere efforts. Moreover, the blood which we got from the blood bank was date expired in most cases. I think the government needs to monitor these unauthorised and authorised blood banks because they do not help people when it is needed most. There is a disease called thalassemia and in some cases this disorder is treated with blood transfusion. The person who carries an acute form of thalassemia requires periodical blood transfusions and hence the patients who are suffering from this disease know the value of blood donation for saving human lives. I know people of Bangladesh are very sympathetic towards the welfare of fellow citizens because people who are living in this land are like our own brothers and sisters. We should vow not to let our brothers and sisters die for want of blood till we have the last drop of it left in our body! Our collective efforts, awareness and generous blood donation could save many lives and bring smiles to millions. So, let us donate blood in order to bring smile to a patient and a family as a whole.