In line with the growing demand and need for blood donations, the Central Blood Bank in Bausher of the Ministry of Health saw an increase of 21 per cent in the number of blood units collected in 2022.
The number of Omani blood donors increased by 77 per cent, that of voluntary blood donors by 97 per cent, while the percentage of new donors who donated for the first time was 49 per cent. More than 78,000 different blood components were distributed to health institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Health, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Sultan Qaboos Integrated Center for Cancer Treatment and Re-search, Armed Forces Hospital, and Royal Oman Police Hospital, in addition to private health institutions.
Dr Zainab bint Salem al Araimi, Director of the Blood Banks Services Department, said: The daily demand for blood components is constantly on the rise to 140 to 160 units at the Central Blood Bank. The Central Blood Bank has seen a depletion in the stock of some blood groups, platelets, and other components due to low number of donors at times in 2022. According to Dr Zainab, the increase in the number of collected units does not mean the number of available blood units is sufficient because the demand is constantly increasing.
The Central Blood Bank urged the community to continue donating blood to maintain a safe stock of blood units as health services continue to be expanded in the country.
The Central Blood Bank in Bausher had earlier said that there is a daily need for more than 15 platelet donors.
"Generally, blood banks face difficulty in providing negative blood types. If your blood type is negative, do not delay your bid, and remember that there are those who are in dire need of your blood donation," according to the central blood bank said.
A platelet can only be kept alive for five days; the Department of Blood Bank Services, DBBS said several many cancer patients require daily platelet transfusions for seven days.
Platelets are tiny blood cells that help your body form clots to stop bleeding. If one of your blood vessels gets damaged, it sends signals to the platelets. The platelets then rush to the site of damage and form a plug (clot) to fix the damage.
The process of spreading across the surface of a damaged blood vessel to stop bleeding is called adhesion. This is because when platelets get to the site of the injury, they grow sticky tentacles that help them stick (adhere) to one another.
They also send out chemical signals to attract more platelets. The additional platelets pile onto the clot in a process called aggregation. A normal platelet count is 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood.
The risk for bleeding develops if a platelet count falls below 10,000 to 20,000.
When the platelet count is less than 50,000, bleeding is likely to be more serious if you're cut or bruised. Some people make too many platelets. They can have platelet counts from 500,000 to more than one million.
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