Getting Through A Young Blood Transfusion

By Marie Stevens


For the majority of its time in existence, human beings were nomadic hunter gatherers. But eventually, society settled down. Many of these early settlements would expand, becoming the seeds from which the great civilizations of antiquity would bloom. Eventually, these great civilizations fell, replaced by modern nation states. In these nation states, people built great cities. First, they used concrete and rock. Then, they fashioned their skyscrapers out of glass and chrome, shining beacons to all the outlying areas. But their cities were not the only thing to change. In twentieth century, as the development of technology hit light speed, so too did medical science. It used to be that when transfusing blood, people were all cavalier about it, just using whatever was on hand. Of course, the young blood transfusion was eventually perfected.

To put in the simplest terms, a blood transfusion is a gift. One individual gives their lifeblood to another individual who needs it. This is something of an oversimplification, but the essence is accurately reflected.

In an ideal world, the blood stays in the body and flows freely and diseases free in it. Of course, the world is anything but ideal and people can sometimes start bleeding, internally or externally. Or they can catch a bug that poisons their own lifeblood. In those cases, they are going to need an infusion of untainted plasma.

A transfusion is achieved when a person is strapped to machine. The machine has a rather large needle. This needle is stuck into one of the many veins in the arm. The machine then pumps out the blood. This blood is then given to a recipient.

To most people, O, B, A, and AB are just letters. Without other vowels and consonants around to help them form words, they have no real meaning. But to a medical practitioner, those letters are very important. These letters represent different types, and the wrong type being given to a recipient can have some pretty dramatic results, like death.

It is important to make sure that the donor and the recipient are compatible with each other. Incompatibility can lead to tragic, and even fatal, results. O negative is the universal donor, meaning that it is compatible with all the other types, when it comes to donating. When it comes to receiving, however, the universal recipient is type AB positive. A person who is O negative can donate to anyone and a person who is AB positive can receive from anyone.

Before the penetration and the pumping can commence, the donor has to be screened. This involves a test to determine the specific type if the person donating is not already aware of it. This involves an interview in which the person may be asked about their sexual history.

A person can be ineligible from donating if they are ill. Even a simple cough can be a disqualification. If a person has donated recently, they will be discouraged from doing so again as it can be dangerous for them. A person infected with AIDS or HIV will not be permitted to donate under any circumstances.

The human body is a curious thing. To function as designed, it has to have every part. But sometimes, parts can be lost, but a person can give someone a hand and maybe a little extra.




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