Many cancer patients require blood transfusions as part of their treatment and the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) is urging South Africans to donate blood during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive often and give generously as it is not just the thousands of leukemia and cancer patients who need your gift of life, patients of other terminal diseases, gynecological complications and accident victims are also among those who need blood transfusions,\u201d says Vanessa Raju, communications manager of SANBS. \u201cBlood is a unique medical resource, unlike other products, it cannot be manufactured in a laboratory or a factory, it comes from us.\u201d<\/p>
With leukemia, cancerous cells are found throughout the body, in the blood or in bone marrow. There is no tumour or growth, making it often difficult to detect and diagnose. \u201cAs leukemia attacks the body\u2019s blood supply and interferes with the normal<\/p>\n
production of red and white blood cells and plasma cells, it is common for patients to have insufficient red blood cells and to develop anemia, or to have too few blood cells. These developments make patients feel tired, breathless or prone to infections. Treatment requires boosting blood counts with healthy donated cells in the form of blood transfusions,\u201d explains Raju.<\/p>
Raju says that many people with leukemia often come to think of transfusions as a lifeline, fresh blood reinvigorates them, and with new energy they feel able to keep up with the severe demands of treatment and to maintain hope of defeating the cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cCancer is an important reason to donate blood as most people know someone close who has cancer,\u201d said Raju.<\/p>\n
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