談談獻血：一月份是美國的獻血月（National Blood Donor Month）（多圖）

美國的獻血月始於1970年。根據美國血庫協會（AABB)統計，美國每天需要大約39,000單位的血液來供應美國的醫院和急診室，特別是那些有癌症，器官移植，和創傷病人的醫療機構。美國的血液供應主要是由美國血庫協會（AABB)，美國紅十字會（American Red Cross），美國血液中心（America’s Blood Centers）來協調。在嚴寒的冬天裏，由於疾病，事故，和不可預見的天氣，讓血液供應更困難。

美國基本的獻血要求是：年滿17歲（16歲以下必須父母簽字同意）；誌願獻血；體重高於110磅；健康沒有感染；不用任何抗菌素；沒有發燒；獻血那天感覺正常；一般八周之內不能重複獻血。

美國每年有成千上萬的健康人誌願獻血。美國紅十字會（American Red Cross）有專門的獻血卡車，常常停在商場和學校來方便獻血者。交通事故在冬天較多，各種血型的血在這個季節裏都會短缺。

 

[JoshuaChow]

Suicidal ideation among HIV+ former blood and/or plasma donors in rural China.

Suicidal ideation is life-threatening and is prevalent among people living with HIV (PLWH). A dearth of such studies was conducted in China. This study investigated the prevalence of suicidal ideation and associated factors among PLWH who were former blood and/or plasma donors (FBPD) in a rural county in central China. Prospective respondents were randomly selected from a local registry; 176 PLWH who were FBPD joined the study. With informed consent, these PLWH and their spouse were interviewed separately and anonymously. Respectively, 34 and 8% of the sampled (index) PLWH self-reported having suicidal ideation and making a suicidal attempt in the last year. The multivariate analyses results showed that the index PLWH's Physical Function subscale score of the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey scale (Odds ratio (OR)=6.67, 95% CI=1.69-26.27, 75 percentiles), the Depression subscale score of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS; OR=9.26, 95% CI=1.32-64.77), and the spouse's Depression subscale score of the DASS (OR=7.64, 95% CI=1.37-42.77) were independently associated with the index PLWH's suicidal ideation. HIV-related variables (e.g., duration of diagnosis, treatment and side effects) and perceived discrimination of the index PLWH, and HIV status of the PLWH's spouse, were not significant factors. Depression is a risk factor for suicides. Moreover, depression may be contagious and the depression status of the spouse also matters. Treatments for depression and prevention intervention for suicides targeting PLWH in rural China are not readily available. Such services are greatly warranted and need to be provided to both the PLWH and his/her spouse.

[JoshuaChow]

In the study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers compared data on blood donation-related complications from nine American Red Cross regions in the U.S. that routinely collect blood from teens, primarily through high school blood drives in 2006. The overall complication rate was 3.8% of all collections.

When comparing rates of complications across age groups, the results showed that 16- and 17-year-old blood donors had much higher rates of complications, such as lightheadedness without loss of consciousness, fainting with loss of consciousness, bruising, and other problems, after donation.

Researchers found complications occurred after 10.7% of donations by 16- and 17-year-old blood donors, compared with 8.3% among 18- and 19-year-old blood donors and 2.8% among blood donors aged 20 and older.

Younger blood donors were also more likely to experience loss of consciousness and other major complications than older donors. Although injuries related to fainting were uncommon (5.9 events per 10,000 blood donations), they were 2.5 times more likely among 16- and 17-year-old blood donors compared to 18- and 19-year-old donors and 14 times more likely than in donors 20 years and over.

Researchers found young blood donors who experienced even a minor complication (such as sweating, becoming pale, or feeling lightheaded without loss of consciousness) were 60% less likely to return to donate within a year than those who did not experience donation-related problems.

"Consequently, any negative experience diminishes the likelihood of return blood donation, and increases the possibility that a short-term yield in donations incurs the ultimate expense of deterring future blood donation by young donors," the researchers write. "These findings are particularly pertinent at a time when blood centers are becoming increasingly reliant on young donors to maintain an adequate blood supply."

[ONCOCIDIA]

Have you ever met cases with blood donation-related depression?