THE SILENT WITNESS
Blood , your health and why you should donate blood
By Dr . Johansen Oduor
Give blood and give it often to save another life
Blood is an essential body tissue with many functions . It is a liquid that is red in colour and is pumped by the heart in order to circulate around the body . It carries with it oxygen and nutrients which are needed for the daily survival of body cells and is also essential for the removal of waste products from the cells and their eventual elimination from the body .
Although blood appears as a red liquid , it is made up of several components . One of the major components of blood are the red blood cells which contain a pigment called haemoglobin . This pigment is the reason that blood is red in colour . Its work is to carry oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and to carry carbon dioxide from the tissues to the lungs for the purpose of removal from the body . Other contents of blood include the white blood cells whose main functions are to fight infections , platelets whose function is to prevent excessive blood loss in case of injuries by forming a solid plug at the site of injury .
The other component of blood is called plasma . This is the fluid part of blood together with the molecules dissolved in it . These molecules include glucose , hormones , proteins , mineral salts , fats and vitamins . They have many functions in the body including energy production , growth and development , controlling the function of organs and so forth .
There are four major types of blood . They are blood groups A , B , AB and O . These can either be rhesus positive or rhesus negative ( the reason you hear that one can be either A + or A- ). The most common blood group is O positive .
As you have now come to realise , blood is a body tissue just like other tissues . As a result , human bodies function well only when blood is in a healthy state . When it is unhealthy you will experience many symptoms in the body including generalised fatigue , dizziness , frequent infections , fevers , poor healing of wounds and prolonged bleeding even in cases of minor injuries and these symptoms depend on which component of blood has problems .
Case One
On July 28 of this year , I was approached by Catherine to perform an autopsy on her baby who died in her sleep at the age of 1year 8months after experiencing a sudden onset of convulsions . Prior to the autopsy process , she informed me that her late daughter had a twin sister . They were born in hospital and when they had reached the age of teething , her late daughter experienced excessive bleeding to such an extent that she had to be hospitalised .
After several hours in hospital where mechanical pressure was applied to the bleeding gums using cotton wool , the bleeding subsided and she was allowed to go home . The hospital however never investigated the cause of excess bleeding . Her twin sister also experienced more than usual bleeding during teething but this did not require hospitalisation . The mother also noted that the late daughter had also been having easily bruised skin and bleeding from minor trauma which used to take longer to stop .
Post mortem of the deceased revealed a large bleeding in the brain which was causing pressure to the brain . This was the cause of the convulsion and death . From the history it looks like she had a disease of the blood which could either be reduced numbers of platelets or of proteins which circulate in blood called clotting factors . I advised her to consult doctors so that the remaining twin could be fully investigated and medical interventions instituted . Persons which blood disorders in which there are reduced clotting factors need frequent blood transfusion and their lives fully depend on blood donors .
Low haemoglobin levels which reflect as anaemia leads to blood which is unable to adequately transport oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and you will experience fatigue , dizziness and in extreme occasions organ failure .
White blood cells , being responsible in fighting infections including viruses , bacteria , fungi and others , need to be adequate in number and also in function and anything short of this leads to frequent infections , some of which may be life threatening . There are many diseases like Leukaemias ( a white blood cell cancer ) in which there are disorders of white blood cells . As part of management , such patients require frequent blood transfusion
Having now known about blood , its components and its importance , we also need to understand that the world carries a burden of many diseases which in many occasions , may lead to patients requiring support in form of blood transfusion . These include
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