Tips on blood donating in Ethiopia

1. You must be at least 18 years of age, a minimum of 45 kgs, and in basic good health.
2.   Get a good night's sleep. 
3.  Drink an extra 16 oz. of water and fluids before the donation
4.  Donating blood don’t hurt, You may feel a slight sting in the beginning lasting only a couple of seconds, but there will be no discomfort during the donation. 
5. Blood donation is a free humanitarian act. Therefore   No blood donor is paid for his blood donation. The blood bank is against such measures as studies have repeatedly confirmed that blood collected from such individuals is known to be high risk compared to that of Voluntary regular blood donors.
6.  There is Blood shortage in Ethiopia, The number of blood units demanded every year increases as health institutions increase and specialized medical services are emerging in the country. Therefore unless we increase the number of voluntary  non-remunerated regular blood donors. Besides the shelf life time of a collected blood is only 35 days in the  Ethiopian context
7.  There is no risk of contracting AIDS or any other disease through the donation process in Ethiopia Red Cross .  Each collection kit is sterile, pre-packaged and used only once.
8.   The body contains 10 to 12 pints (approximately 5 to 6 liters) of blood. Your whole blood donation is approximately one pint (less than half a liter).
9.  The amount of  blood is taken for a whole blood donation is  depending on the weight of the blood donor between 350 to 450 ml is collected at a time.
10.   Not much time required to replace the blood that you donated. The volume of fluids will adjust within a few hours of your donation.  The red blood cells will be replaced within a few weeks.
12. The distribution of blood types among blood donors in Ethiopia is as follows:

O Rh-positive	39 percent
O Rh-negative	3 percent
A Rh-positive	28 percent
A Rh-negative	2 percent
B Rh-positive	21 percent
B Rh-negative	1 percent
AB Rh-positive	5 percent
AB Rh-negative	1 percent