How does blood donation work? This is the process in Chile

Blood donation is a recognized procedure, which takes approximately 30 minutes in which, as indicated Manuel Gonzalez medical director of Bupa Renaca Clinic extract 450 ml of blood nail “amount that does not harm the body and it recovers in a short time by itself”.

“Despite advances in biotechnology, blood cannot be artificially produced, it is a renewable tissue which, once extracted, has a limited lifespan. For this reason, Giving blood is giving your life “, he added.

As the nurse said Maria Francisca Bustamante health innovation management coordinator at colaboramed to donate blood, you start with the donor data records, then go to “a in-person professional interview and private to assess their state of health.

Thus, if the person is accepted to carry out the process, “the Informed consent legal document included in the Donor File, which must be read and signed at the end of the interview”.

To blood donations, in accordance with what is indicated by the Ministry of Health (Minsal), you will be tested for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HTLV, syphilis and Chagas disease to make sure the person has no infections.

According to the doctor Milton Larondo boss of Blood bank of University of Chile Clinical Hospital he blood type what we need most are blood groups A and 0 while the less frequent are B and AB.

Also, he assured that, compared to the months of January to May of the year 2022, there has been in the health establishment”a 12% increase in donors which allowed a good satisfaction of the requests for transfusion”.

In addition, according to what González commented, “it is estimated that in our country only the 36% of people are disinterested donors ”.

The person who wants to donate blood must call your healthcare facility by phone closest and find out about the attention calendar since I know you need to schedule time in order to perform the procedure.

Once this step has been completed, the person should not follow the given instructions and show up at the time and place indicated.

After the donation, González indicates that the person will receive “a snack to regain strength before resuming normal activity. However, it is recommended wait an hour to drive and 12 hours for driving heavy vehicles or collective locomotion, as well as do not do risky sports and work at height.

If anyone wishes to donate blood, they can be informed at minsalm-page on the different places and times throughout the country where this procedure is performed.

As Bustamante points out, part of the characteristics that people must meet to perform this act is to “check whether medications they take recently prevents them from giving ”, then they should talk, if they are in this situation, with their doctor.

Among other requirements to be met, the Ministry of Health noted:

• Have an identity document (identity card, driving license or passport).
• Be between 17 and 70 years old . In the case of being a minor, the signed authorization of the parents or guardian must be taken and, if the person is over 60 years old, he must have medical authorization from the place where the donation process takes place.
• Sleep at least 5 hours .
• Weigh more than 50 kg.
• Have eaten in the last five hours.
• Women can donate blood if four months have passed since their last donation, while men must wait three months.
• If a person has tattoos, they can be a donor if it has been six months since the procedure was performed.

In addition, the person in charge of the blood bank of the Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile, points out that the donor must not have “chronic illnesses” except for well-controlled hypertension and diabetes treated with diet and oral medications.

However, even if the above conditions are met, the minsal indicates that the person will not be able to donate blood if they have one of the following characteristics:

• You have had sex, with or without a condom, with someone new, or with more than one partner, in the last six months.
• If you have had diarrhea in the last 14 days.
• You have had sex with people in the sex trade in the past year.
• If you have had piercings, tattoos, rings or acupuncture sessions in the last six months.
• Used or injected illegal drugs.
• If you are pregnant or, within the last six months, you have given birth or had an abortion.
• You have taken antibiotics in the last 7 days.
• If you have had an endoscopy or colonoscopy in the last six months.

He Ministry of Health declares that the the blood obtained is intended for various treatments such as those of diseases that cause anemia, different types of cancer, surgical interventions, organ transplants, among other processes.

“With blood given, 4 blood components known as red blood cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitates said Dr. Larrondo.

As ColaboraMed’s health innovation management coordinator points out, this process is safe and “a few days after a blood donation, the body replaces lost fluids and after two weeks replenish red blood cells ”.

For his part, the person in charge of the blood bank of the clinical hospital of the University of Chile, underlines that “in general, the the blood test is very well tolerated ”. He also comments that during this process the individual is always “monitored by health personnel ”.

In addition, the medical director of Clínica Bupa Reñaca adds that “blood donation is safe, since new, sterile and disposable equipment is used for each donor, therefore, you can’t catch any disease ”.

However, the Ministry of Health informs that, if 14 days have passed since the donation and the person follows presenting a problem This should notify the same location where you performed the process to analyze your situation.