Hospitals need to have an adequate supply of blood ready for operations and emergencies. Being a blood donor is probably only one of several ways in which you show your personal commitment to helping patients in hospitals. But if you think about it, you will see that the kind of help you give by being a blood donor is special and unusual in more than one way. And perhaps even more extraordinary is the fact that the person whose life you save is not a relative or a close friend but a complete stranger. To be willing to help a stranger, without demanding any benefit for yourself, shows the true generosity which is always shown by blood donors.
Blood transfusion is the giving of blood to a patient who needs it in order to survive and recover.
Thousands of patients receive blood transfusions every year - thanks to the care and commitment shown by life saving blood donors. A single donation of blood is about 450mls and the average body of a person contains 4500mls. The donor's blood volume begins to be restored immediately and complete restoration of body fluid comes within 24 hours. Full replacement of blood cells takes place in a couple of weeks. It takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes to donate a unit of blood.