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BUENA VIDA

SALUD

The Gift of LIfe

One pint of blood—the average donation—can save up to three lives, yet only 5 percent of the population offers up an arm to give. For Hispanics, many of whom are universal blood donors, donating has never been more important.

By Millie Acebal Rousseau

Nineteen-year-old Angel Cruz has sickle cell anemia, which causes his immune system not to work as it should.
“I’m the first to get sick when a cold is going around,” Cruz says. Once a month, he visits the doctor to get two units of blood—a four-hour process. Like other patients with similar chronic illnesses, or those involved in a life-threatening trauma, he depends on blood donors to survive.
“Blood transfusions can be life saving,” explains Ofelia Alvarez, M.D., a pediatric hematologist and associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She’s also Cruz’s doctor. People with leukemia and anemia require blood, as do some patients hospitalized for multiple conditions and some preemies. Accident victims who suffer trauma may also need it. But with a lack of people donating, blood can be hard to come by. “If there’s no blood supply, we won’t be able to keep up with demand,” Alvarez says.
That’s a concern shared by Ernest Gonzalez, M.D. He’s a general surgeon specializing in trauma and surgical critical care at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston, a certified level one trauma center. On a given night, he’ll see about 15 traumas—that’s more than 5,000 annually. Just the night before our interview, he had to use the entire reserve on just one patient.
Overall, blood donation is low, but that’s especially true among Hispanics. A survey by America’s Blood Centers, the largest network of non-profit community blood centers in North America, found that out of more than 11.6 million donors in 2003, only 4.4 percent were Hispanic. (68 percent of its blood centers responded.)
So why aren’t Hispanics donating? “They’re nervous about what it involves,” Gonzalez says, but adds, “It’s not a painful process to donate.” He also points to lack of education about the benefits of donating blood within the community.
Still others don’t donate simply because they’ve never been asked, says Beth Hartwell, M.D., a clinical pathologist and medical director of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Houston. Her center supplies blood to 250 hospitals in the area.
One of the reasons it’s so important for Hispanics to donate is because we tend to have Type O blood, which can be used to treat patients with all blood types—A, B, AB and O—regardless of race or gender. Donation is especially important in Hispanic communities where a lower incidence of blood donors may lead to a shortage.
Yet another reason is that Hispanic patients who have rare blood types need to be monitored closely. The blood they require is more likely to be found in donors with the same ethnic background—in other words, other Hispanics.
Maria Chavarria started donating blood while she was in college. “My mom was actually against it,” she says, explaining her mother had initial misconceptions that people can gain weight or get sick if they donate blood. Then, four years after Chavarria first donated, her brother was diagnosed with leukemia. “Now, everybody donates,” she says of her family. Chavarria donates at Gulf Coast Regional and is a Commit for Life donor. (Different cities have different programs.) It means she donates once per quarter and volunteers to be contacted when there is a need for her blood type.
“The need for blood is always there,” Chavarria says. “Do it now. It took my family’s experience with my brother to become Commit for Life donors.”
A typical donation consists of one pint of blood. (Think of a pint-size container of ice cream). Since blood is separated into three components—plasma, platelets and red blood cells—one donation alone can save up to three lives.
Anyone can donate, unless they have an active infection, diseases such as HIV or hepatitis, or are taking certain medications. Most blood centers conduct health screenings prior to donation to assess eligibility.
Once blood is donated, it is screened for 14 illnesses to make sure the blood is safe before being sent to hospitals. One of the main reasons people get turned away is for low iron levels, so donors are encouraged to eat well before visiting a blood center. Donations are accepted at blood banks or donation centers—many host blood drives—and at most hospitals.

Common Misconceptions
About Donating Blood

• I can get a blood-borne disease by
donating blood.
• My blood type is so common I don’t
need to donate.
• I have high blood pressure and/or
diabetes, so I cannot donate.
• I have a tattoo and/or body piercing,
so I cannot donate.

(These statements are all false.)
Source: Gulf Coast Regional Blood Cente