Before donating blood
§ If you are willing to donate blood, but don’t have good body weight, include more carbohydrate and dairy products in your food, to ensure your body weight increases.
§ If your hemoglobin level isn’t good enough, eat wet or dry dates, green leafy vegetables, beetroot, jaggery, ragi, soya bean, sprouted grams, apple, apricots and other food items that are rich in iron.
§ Non-vegetarians can eat red meat, sea food etc.
§ At the time of donation, you should be medically fit for blood donation. You should not be affected even by cough or cold.
§ Eat your food four hours before you donate blood.
§ Eat healthy food which is rich in iron.
§ Avoid fatty food including pizza, burger, packed wafers, fried items etc.
§ Have a complete eight hours uninterrupted sleep.
§ Wear loose clothes that will allow easy movement of body. Prefer short sleeves so that is doctors don’t have to struggle to attach syringe.
§ Drink lot of water to avoid dehydration.
§ A week prior to blood donation day, have food rich in iron. This will keep up haemoglobin count in your body.
§ Avoid consumption of cigarette or alcohol at least 72 hours before donating blood.
§ Before donating blood, answer all the questions that doctors ask or the questionnaire has, truthfully. Just because you want to donate blood, don’t put recipient’s life at risk by giving false information on the health front.
§ Give your contact numbers when asked. It will help in case of emergencies, like when somebody else needs blood sometime later, or doctors find out anything alarming about your blood and need to inform you.
§ An option is given to you during the ‘getting to know you’ session, whether to contact you if your blood test results show any kind of abnormality later. It is recommended to accept the request, for your own good.
After donating blood
§ Don’t hurry up to go back home after donating blood. Sit back for some 20 minutes so that doctors can keep an eye on possible post-donation problems like dizziness, nausea etc.
§ If you feel dizziness, lie down straight on your back and close your eyes. Also you can try sitting down with your knees folded and tuck your head between them. No need to panic, this is very normal.
§ If you continue to feel dizzy for long time, contact the doctor at the blood donation camp (In your certificate, you will find the number of the person to be contacted) or your family doctor and get yourself checked.
§ Have juice or eat biscuits or chocolates or any other refreshments provided to you in blood donation camps.
§ Do not forget to take the contact number of the doctor or the blood bank, if in case you need it in future.
§ Chain smokers and alcoholic people must not consume tobacco or alcohol immediately after blood donation.
§ Do not ride two-wheeler or four-wheeler or cycles after donating blood. Prefer a public transport to commute back.
§ Do not carry out any activity that requires a lot of strength at least for two hours or maximum one day.
§ Engineers or workers at construction sites should avoid working in high altitudes after donating blood, at least for a day.
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