For Me?? Why Thank You!!

Assalam-u-Alaikum!

Hope everyone is doing well. Have you ever considered what kind of benefits you might be getting from donating blood? Well, recent studies have shown that there might be certain physical benefits attached to blood donation.

We all know that our blood contains iron; iron is an important nutrient for your body and for your health. It helps your cells "breathe". Iron works with protein to make the hemoglobin in red blood cells. The hemoglobin carries oxygen to all parts of the body so it can perform its normal functions. The body stores iron in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow. A study was conducted comparing people who donate blood to people who do not. The research entailed in analyzing if having high levels of iron in your blood has anything to do with heart disease. The results were astounding! This should get everyone to donate blood! :-) Check it out...

Mild iron deficiency has been hypothesised to reduce risk of heart disease risk, while a high concentration of body iron has been suggested as a risk factor for myocardial infarction.

In the 24 months before the baseline examinations 153 (5.7%) of the 2682 participants had donated blood. During follow up, one (0.7%) of the donors experienced an acute myocardial infarction compared with 226 (9.8%) of the 2529 non-donors (P<0.001>1) shows that, in a multivariate model adjusted for the main coronary risk factors, the blood donors' risk of acute myocardial infarction was 86% less than that of the non-donors (relative risk 0.14, 95% confidence interval 0.02 to 0.97, P=0.047).

We suggest that the loss of iron associated with giving blood might be the reason for the observed risk reduction. However, voluntary blood donors seem to be generally more health conscious and more healthy than those who do not donate blood, and this may have caused self selection bias. In our study the association between donating blood and reduced risk for myocardial infarction was weakened but remained significant after adjustment for the main coronary risk factors. Our finding needs to be confirmed in other prospective population studies, and investigation of the impact of iron depletion on atherosclerotic progression or coronary events is necessary to test the above theory.

This information was collected from BMJ. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/314/7083/793#T1

Red Defender: The Super Hero!

Assalam-u-Alaikum!

Just thought I'd post this video I found. It is a commercial that the CBS and the American Blood Services use to promote blood donation. Check it out, its quite hilarious!

It's not my fault! It's my blood's!

Assalam-u-Alaikum,

I'm not much of a guy who bases people's personalities on horoscopes, predictions, DNA; but I found this information to be kinda funny so I thought I would share it with you guys.

I am not sure if you guys have heard of the Japanese blood type theory of personality. The discovery of different blood types was made in 1901 and was hailed as one of the greatest achievements in medical history. Unfortunately however, this theory was used by the Nazis to further their eugenics (a certain social philosophy) program and claim the superiority of Germans — mostly types A and O — over Jews, Asians and others who had a larger proportion of type B blood.

Masahiko Nomi wrote a book in the late 70s which tried to show the relationship between blood type and personality. This theory was quite a craze in the 30s in Japan, and as such the military tried to use this study to try and breed better soldiers. However this theory lacked scientific evidence so it was eventually thrown out. Any who, check out and see where you fall, but try your best not to blame your blood type for your personality :-) .

Check the Expiration Date!

Assalam-u-Alaikum!

We all know that there aren't enough people donating blood comparing to the amount of people that need it. While CBS (Canadian Blood Services) is funded by the government, it is important to understand the kind of pressures they are put under due to the type of management and servicing that is required. How does it make their jobs difficult you might ask? Well, putting aside the fact they have to extract blood from volunteers as safe as possible and in the most professional manner, they also have to manage the supply of blood once it has been collected. Which brings me to the issue of blood having a limited shelf life!

Platelets must be used within five days of donation, according to the Red Cross. Red blood cells may be stored under refrigeration for about 45 days. Frozen red blood cells can last up to 10 years, but it costs too much to freeze more than a small portion of the blood supply. Plasma is generally frozen and must be used within one year.

So while I would tell blood to just chill, I'm afraid its bound by time.

Peace

Dude, Where's my blood?

Assalam-u-Alaikum,

Okay.. so you just donated blood, mashAllah that's great! But now you might be wondering (that's if you already didn't know), "Umm... errr... Where's my blood going?!" Well folks..donated blood is processed into three key components: red blood cells, platelets and plasma. Those components can be used to treat a host of injuries and diseases. Here is a breakdown...

Red blood cells are used to treat trauma or surgical patients and can relieve the effects of anemia. Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate body's principal means of delivering oxygen from the lungs to body tissues via the blood.

Plasma, the liquid part of blood, is given to patients with clotting problems and is used in burn treatment.

Hospital staff can use plasma donations to help patients with:

Some bleeding disorders
Liver diseases
Shock
Some operations
Cancer and bone marrow therapy

Platelets clot the blood when cuts or other open wounds occur and are often used in cancer and transplant patients.

Blood: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Assalaaaaaaaaam-u-Alaikum!

Sorry for not being able to post for the past week; was occupied with some assignments. Anywhoo, I was just doing some research and I came across some interesting information.

Did you know that blood donations typically decline the first part of each year?
This causes hospitals to scramble to shore up supplies, and at times it even means delaying surgery!


Did you know one pint (455 mL) of blood can save up to 3 lives?
.................................................. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...Sorry, I was imagining the crazy rewards I would get by giving just one pint!


Did you know that donors have contributed over 15 million units of blood (in United States) in 2001?
That same year, hospitals in the United States transfused nearly 14 million units of whole blood and red blood cells to 4.9 million patients -- an average of 38,000 units of blood needed on any given day.

Something to think about...

This information was obtained from the MedilinePlus online library, an article by HealthDay News: March 11, 2007.

Going Public!

Assalam-u-Alaikum,

BVC is finally ready to go public alhamdullah. So please spread the word to everyone you know in the GTA about this project. I sent out numerous emails yesterday and created a group on Facebook to help spread the word. But nothing can be done without your help and support! Although this is only the first step, it is the most crucial one of all... getting everyone on board. May Allah help us.

By the way, in a few days time I will inshAllah post up a standard document that you may email your friends, family, and colleagues, that will help them understand what this project is about.

JzK

Go Canada! But what took us so long?

Assalam-u-Alaikum!

I was speaking to a CBS rep today, and she was telling me that the government passed a legislature last year that gave CBS the permission to post the application for Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry online so that people can possibly join the registry that hospitals have access to if they are in need of a Bone Marrow Donor. While applying online is just the first step, it is shocking to see that Canada is the first country in the world to be able to institute online registration. The CBS rep was telling me before this system was established they would have to rely on snail mail and wait for such a long time to get registrants and process their applications by hand and then reply back to the applicant, and so forth. Even though the government has now changed its laws, it is sad to see that these steps weren't taken earlier. Well I guess better late than never right? What about the rest of the world... what's taking them so long?

Its funny, we as a society seem to adapt and advance in technology in which it pleases us the most.. while rest of the avenues such as in health care and other social problems seem to take their sweet time getting there.

Peace