The average person’s body contains about five litres of blood, that’s about 10.5 units. Your body has more than 60,000 miles of blood vessels that circulate that blood every day. This blood circulation keeps organs, muscles and tissues healthy and working to keep you alive and also helps your body get rid of waste products.
Having good blood circulation is important to all parts of your body. Massage therapy helps you to relax and helps to move blood throughout your body. Good blood circulation brings damaged, tense muscles the oxygen rich blood they need to heal.
Since blood is such an important element in our bodies, we definitely couldn’t live without it, I thought it would be a good time to bring attention to the need for blood donations. In 2022 National Blood Donor Week is June 12 to 18th and every year countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day on June 14th. These events serve to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood.
So many people think they’re not eligible to donate but it is definitely worth checking with Canadian Blood Services to find out. Even people who had cancer, depending on the type, may be able to donate five years after treatment is complete and are cancer-free. You may be eligible to donate with a history of jaundice or hepatitis six months after you have fully recovered, unless the cause was due to hepatitis B or C.
Blood, plasma, platelets, stem cells, organs and tissues are a critical part of everyday medical care including major surgeries, medical procedures, cancer treatments and managing diseases. You could be helping a child being treated for cancer, a mother who has just given birth, or a father about to have heart surgery.
A typical blood donation is only one pint, or unit, and on average the process only takes about an hour. Men are eligible to donate whole blood every 56 days but for women it’s 84 days, that’s only six times a year for men and four times a year for women.
One in two people in Canada are eligible to donate blood, plasma, and platelets, but only one in 81 does. A small group of regular donors is meeting the needs of the entire country, which is unsustainable. There is currently an immediate need for blood in Canada. To book an appointment to donate and join Canada’s Lifeline, download the GiveBlood app, call 1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283) or book now at blood.ca.
To see how massage can improve your blood circulation call Dee-anne at 250-497-5974 to arrange an appointment. You can choose from a head and face, upper body, or legs and feet massage, or any combination. We are a mobile service so are able to come to you in your home or you can visit us at one of the locations that we visit weekly.
