Blood is a red viscous fluid with numerous suspended cells and proteins, constantly circulating, providing nutrition and oxygen, to the body's cells. It also transports metabolic wastes away from the same cells. There is no substitute for blood. It cannot be manufactured. It is essential to life. On an average, a healthy man has about 5 litres of blood, while a woman has about 500 ml less than a man.
Total Volume About 60-80 ml per kg of body weight.

The Two Constituents:

• - blood cells-solid or cellular part :(35%)
• - plasma-fluid part: (65%).

Types of Blood Corpuscles (Cells):

1. RBC- Red Blood Corpuscles are disc shaped cells without nucleus and contain a pigment called Haemoglobin which gives the red colour to the blood. Haemoglobin is an iron-containing pigment. RBCS are produced in the spleen and the bone marrow. Hemoglobin picks up oxygen in the lungs by forming a chemical compound

2. WBC- White Blood Corpuscles are round semi-transparent cells containing a nucleus and are a little larger in size than RBC. The WBC are the 'soldiers' of the body's defence system. They combat infection

Grouping

In 1900-1902 K. Landsteiner classified human blood into A, B, AB and O. The group blood can be given to any of the other groups (known as a universal donor). Group AB can receive A, B, AB and O (known as a universal recipient).

Blood Clotting

It is a body's defence system to combat bleeding. Plasma contains Fibrinogen-a soluble protein which produces the insoluble protein called fibrin essential for blood coagulation which is produced in the liver.

Blood Transfusion

The availability of blood leads to a new lease of life to those in dire need. It requires a reliable supply of safe blood, assured by a stable base of regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donors. The need for blood transfusion would arise at any time irrespective of where one is in an urban or rural area.

Facts

• Around 108 million units of donated blood are collected globally every year.
• Around 108 million units of donated blood are collected globally every year.
• Nearly 50% of these blood donations are collected in high-income countries, home to less than 20% of the world's population.
• Blood transfusions are used to support various treatments
• Voluntary unpaid donors account for 100% of blood supplies in 62 countries
• About 10 000 blood centres in 168 countries report collecting a total of 83 million blood donations.
• The median annual blood donations per centre is 15,000 in high-income countries, as compared to 3,100 in middle and low income countries.

Always Screen Donated Blood:

• All donated blood should always be screened for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis prior to transfusion. A single unit of blood can benefit several patients.
• Separating blood into its various components allows a single unit of blood to benefit several patients and provides a patient only the blood component which is needed. Unnecessary transfusions expose patients to needless risk

Blood Transfusion Saves Lives and improves Health

• Around 112.5 million units of donated blood are collected globally every year.
• Nearly 47% of these blood donations are collected in high-income countries, home to less than 19% of the world's population.
• Many patients requiring transfusion, however, do not have timely access to safe blood and blood products. •Every country needs to ensure that supplies of blood and blood products are sufficient and free from HIV, hepatitis viruses and other infections that can be transmitted through transfusion.

Blood Transfusions are Used to Support Various Treatments

• In high-income countries, the most frequently transfused patient group is over 60 years of age, accounting for up to 79% of all transfusions.
• The transfusion is commonly used for supportive care in cardiovascular surgery, transplant surgery, massive trauma, and therapy for solid and haematological malignancies.
• In low- and middle-income countries, it is used more often for management of pregnancy-related complications, childhood malaria complicated by severe anaemia, and trauma-related injuries.

Blood: Demand and Supply India

• Today faces a shortage of 10% relative to its blood requirements. In absolute terms, this means that we require to cover a shortfall of over 12 lakh units.
• Given that the eligible donor population of India is more than 512 million, this deficit is surprising

The Need For Blood

• With more than 1200 road crashes PC occurring every day in India, 60 million trauma induced surgeries are performed in the country every year. •The 230 million major operations, 331 million cancer related procedures like chemotherapy and 10 million pregnancy complications all require blood transfusion. Besides patients being treated for sickle cell anemia, thalassemia and haemophilia require large quantities of blood day
• Voluntary blood donations increased from just 54.3% in 2006 to 83% at the end of 2012.
• The shortfall has also gone down from 17% to the present 94 the blood requirement.

State-wise Performance

In 2016, while 16 states and UTs faced a shortage of blood supply, 18 had an excess of it.

States like Sikkim, who initially faced a shortfall had increased availability by 22%, leading to a surplus of 4%. Generally, Maharashtra, Punjab and Kerala are the best performers in blood donation, with each state having an excess of blood supply of more than 35%. However, sadly, incidents of wastage of blood units collected are frequent to happen in such states.

Shelf life of collected blood is only 30-45 days, which means excess blood needs to be soon sent to all needy areas. The eligible donor population of India is more than 512 million Awareness About Blood Donation It is sharply skewed. While some states, like Delhi are able to accumulate 233% extra blood than what is required, other needy states like Bihar face a deficit of as much as 85%. The cause for this wide difference in blood donation is primarily the lack of knowledge about its simple process and the various unfounded myths or fear that people have harboured over the centuries.

On the whole, India today faces a shortage of 10% relative to its blood requirements. In absolute terms, this means that we require to cover a shortfall of over 12 lakh units. States like Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, UP and Meghalaya who have struggled to meet their blood requirements by 50%