World Blood Donor Day 2022: How Blood Donation Can Save The Lives Of Countless Thalassemia Patients?
“Every blood donor is a life saver.”
On the 14th of June, World Blood Donor Day is celebrated globally to raise awareness about the necessity for safe blood and blood products to save lives. It is also an opportunity to thank the voluntary and unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts.
Blood Donation: Myth vs Fact
MYTH
Donating blood makes the immune system weak.
FACT
There is no danger to the immune system due to blood donation. The red and white blood cell count temporarily goes down post-blood donation. However, the body replenishes the lost blood and recuperates within a few weeks.
Blood Donation Benefits
Most aren’t aware of the fact that a single pint of blood can save three lives. Besides being noble, blood donation is a very healthy practice, helping those in need of emergency care by saving their lives. Therefore, UAE residents are urged to participate in voluntary blood donation. According to the data, the blood donation centre registered 66,000 voluntary donors and collected 55,000 units of blood in 2020.
The Dubai Blood Donation Centre collects almost 50% of all blood donations in the UAE.
Let’s throw some light on the various health benefits of blood donation.
- Promotes good health
- Helps in weight loss
- Reduces risk of cancer and hemochromatosis
- Stimulates production of new blood cells
- Prevent heart and liver diseases due to iron overload
What Happens In Thalassemia?
Since thalassemia is a blood disorder, the disease causes a drop in the red blood cells, in which transfusion plays a crucial role.
Thalassemia major can be life-threatening with serious implications. Hence, lifelong regular blood transfusions every two to five weeks are recommended to maintain levels above 9–10.5 g/dl.
How Can Blood Donation Save The Lives Of Countless Thalassemia Patients?
The world is in dire need of blood donors, and patients with thalassemia majorly rely on blood transfusions, through which healthy red blood cells are given to the patients. Therefore, blood donation becomes crucial since their lives are on the line and solely depend on blood transfusions.
As per the Ministry of Health and Prevention, at least 8.5% of the UAE’s population are thalassemia minors who carry the gene.
According to a global estimate, around 9 million thalassemia carrier women become pregnant annually. Additionally, 1.33 million pregnancies are at risk for thalassemia major.
Blood Transfusion Therapy
Thalassemia minor doesn’t need transfusions, whereas thalassemia intermedia may need transfusions during sickness or surgery. However, thalassemia major will require regular blood transfusions as it helps replenish the haemoglobin and red blood cell levels.
Reasonable goals and optimal safety remain the essential factors in the protocol for routine administration of red blood cells to thalassaemia patients.
The primary goals are:
- Red cell viability maintenance and function during storage to ensure sufficient oxygen transport.
- Achieving appropriate haemoglobin level
- Avoiding adverse therapy reactions and transmission of infectious agents.
Blood donation can help save the lives of countless patients suffering from thalassemia. But not just thalassemia, blood donation helps many people survive complicated surgeries, blood disorders and many other treatments.
Conclusion
Pharma Solutions aim to strengthen the healthcare system of the UAE and encourage everyone to donate blood as often as possible. We are leaving no stone unturned to fight this deadly disease; therefore, we have procured the first affordable generic drug for Thalassemia patients to fight this fatal disease, cutting the treatment cost by almost 40%. The drug is an iron chelator used to treat patients with iron overload due to transfusion when the current chelation therapy is inadequate.
Our team of experts at Pharma Solutions assist pharmaceutical and innovative healthcare companies aiming to venture into the emerging markets of the GCC & MENA region.
We are actively involved in facilitating licensing, commercialisation, marketing, and distributing FDA/EMA-approved innovative pharmaceuticals.
Connect with us today to know more about the services and the first affordable generic drug for Thalassemia patients.
