Donating blood is an easy and safe way to help others. Since blood cannot be replaced artificially or with medicines, blood is a prerequisite for life for many people with serious illnesses. The Red Cross Blood Service reports that around 40,000 people annually need blood products (red cells, platelets, and plasma). This means that around 20,000 new blood donors are needed every year, or around 800 donors every working day. Anyone can need blood products, which are given, for example, during childbirth, after accidents, and in the treatment of cancer patients.
Blood donations from anyone who is able to donate are welcome and needed. However, there are currently too few donors of African origin in Finland. This is especially the case for repeat donors, and in relation to the growing size of the Finnish population and the number of patients. The preferred blood option for patients is blood from their own blood group.
Normally, the ethnic background of the donor is irrelevant, as the main ABO and Rh blood group characteristics are the same for everyone. However, different populations have rare blood groups or blood group combinations that cannot be found elsewhere. In these cases, the patient needs blood from a donor of the same ethnic group with the same rare blood group or group combination. For example, U-negative blood group is a rare blood group (less than 1% prevalence) specifically found among people born in Africa, but no such donor has yet been found in Finland. In the case of a patient needing repeated blood transfusions, such as people with sickle cell anaemia, it can also be easier to find suitable donors from the same ethnic group.
The closer the blood types of the donor and the patient are to each other, the lower the risk of complications associated with blood transfusion therapy. Therefore, it’s very important to find donors from as many different ethnic backgrounds as possible. If donating is an option for you, we urge you to donate!
If you are a first-time donor, take a quick online test to see if you are a suitable donor. You must also be able to communicate fluently in Finnish, Swedish, or English. This ensures that if something is found in your blood during the screening process that needs to be communicated to you, the nurse will be able to discuss it with you in person and without any problems. Then make an appointment to donate blood.
Before your appointment, please complete a health questionnaire. When you arrive at the blood donation point at your appointment time, the nurse will first measure your haemoglobin from the tip of your finger and go through the pre-filled health questionnaire with you. The blood donation itself does not take long, as the blood bag is filled in about 5-10 minutes. However, you should allow more time for the visit, as coffee and a snack are served to all donors.
