The Safety Of Blood Essay Research Paper

The Safety Of Blood Essay, Research Paper

The Safety of Blood

A five-year old girl is riding down the street, on her way to her best friend.s house. She doesn.t have a care in the world and is

quietly humming to herself. Suddenly a car whips around the corner and swerves to avoid the child, but he looses control and squarely

hits the girl, causing the her to fall and get trapped between the car and her battered bicycle. A main artery in her leg has been severed

and blood fills the gutter of the street. As she gets rushed to the hospital in the ambulance, a pint of blood is given to her to attempt to

replace some of the life giving fluid that is pouring out of her leg. In the end she received four pints of blood and made a full recovery.

Although everything turned out all right for the girl, things could have been much different. What if that blood hadn.t been there

because the nation.s blood supply was low. What if the blood that she received had been infected with a deadly disease such as Syphilis

or HIV. These are pressing concerns for today.s society. Even though one in every five people will need a blood transfusion and the risk

of contracting a disease such as AIDS is practically negligible, people are still concerned that the blood that they receive may have

harmful or deadly diseases and that today.s blood supply is not “safe.”

However, “safe” means different things for different people. For some, safe is an absolute security from any danger. This is an

extreme viewpoint, though, because most people realize that one can never be completely safe. Another, and more popularly held

connotation of “safe,” is the probability of not getting hurt. This is a much more reasonable and plausible definition and therefor will be

used throughout this paper. However, even though the overwhelming probability is that nothing will go wrong, people still fear that the

nation.s blood supply is unsafe. They are incorrect in this belief, though, because much is done to assure that the nation.s blood supply is,

in fact, safe.

One requirement to having a safe blood supply is to have an extensive reserve, because this allows for the option of discarding any

blood that is potentially unsafe. The assurance of an ample blood supply begins with the donation process. Most of the people in this

country have the capability to donate blood. However, only 4 percent of the eligible population actually donates.1 There are few

restrictions and the reason why there are blood shortages is because people don.t want to donate as opposed to can.t donate. For most

blood centers, the physical criteria that a donor must meet are as follows: person must be at least 17 years of age, weigh 110 pounds, and

be in good physical health. However, if so many people can donate blood why do so few choose to.

Most people are afraid of giving blood. There are many misconceptions about the process of donating blood and receiving

transfusions. For example, people believe that there is a danger of contracting diseases, especially AIDS, from the needles used during the

process. However, these chances are zero, and a person has less of a chance of contracting a disease while giving blood than he has in

any other ordinary situation

Actually, people have little to fear about giving blood. Many precautions are taken to assure that the process is safe for the donor,

and the blood that is received is safe for the recipient. Before the donor even gets close to the bed or the needle, he first must complete

a thorough survey asking about his past and potentially risky behavior. The survey asks about recent sexual encounters, focusing on

homosexual situations. It also asks about drug use, body piercing, and prostitution, which are all considered to be “at risk behaviors.” If

the donor has participated in such behavior he will not be allowed to donate until a time when it is safer for everyone involved. If the

donor passes the screening, his blood is collected in a new, plastic bag with a brand new needle. The needle and everything used during

the process, from the finger lancet to the cotton swabs, are disposed of instead of being reused, which eliminates the possibility of

something not being properly sterilized. Also, if by chance, the nurse misses the vein and must reinsert a needle, he will start over with

a new needle, to assure sterility. After the blood is drawn, it is sent to certain laboratories, where it is tested for diseases such as HIV. If

there is a problem, the donor will even be notified to assure that he or she doesn.t put anyone else at risk. At any point in this process,

blood that does not reach the proper standards will be removed from the supply, assuring safety. In fact, two to ten percent of the units

of blood that are received end up being removed because of uncertainty. 2

Another reason why people may be hesitant to donate is because they don.t know the benefits of giving blood. First, because of the

screening process, the donor receives a sort of mini-physical every eight weeks. This lets a person keep a check on his or her blood

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