Impact of regular blood donation on the human body; donors’ perspective. Donors’ opinion on side effects of regular blood donation on human body

Introduction. Voluntary blood donation refers to ”unpaid, non-remunerated” donation of blood by healthy people for those who require blood transfusion. Recently in Poland, there is an observed decrease in the number of blood donations which, among others, may be ascribed to demographic changes and epidemics of various diseases but also to myths, prejudice and misconceptions regarding the act of donating blood. The most objective source of opinion on the subject are the donors themselves. The study aim was to explore the opinions of blood donors regarding the impact of regular blood donation on the human body as well as their experience related to blood donation. Material and methods. The method of a diagnostic opinion survey was used with a questionnaire developed for the purpose of the study. The questionnaire consisted of 6 closed-ended and 5 sociodemographic questions. It was completed by 2387 blood donors (responders). The IBM SPSS Statistics 20 program was used for predictive analytics and calculations. The statistical significance was established at p ≤ 0.05. Results. In the opinion of most responders (78.3%) one cannot get addictive to blood donation. The majority of blood donors (85.2%) believe that no increased production of red blood cells (RBCs) in bone marrow occurs as result of regular blood donations. As the greatest health benefit for the donor himself, 81.4% of the responders declared the boosted/enhanced sense of well-being as result of offering one’s own blood to other people. Conclusions. The knowledge and experience of voluntary blood donors should be carefully considered by organizers of blood-promotion campaigns. The conviction that no side effects are associated with long term blood donation gets stronger with the increase in the volume of donated blood. Altruism was the most frequently declared motive for donating blood

Wpływ regularnego oddawania krwi na organizm ludzki w opinii honorowych dawców krwi. Następstwa oddawania krwi w opinii krwiodawców

Introduction. Honorary blood donation is the selfless donation of blood by healthy people to people who require blood transfusions. Recently, a decrease in the number of blood donations has been observed in Poland, caused by rumors about blood donation. Blood donors are the people who can most objectively assess the effect of donating blood on the human body. The aim of the study was to know the opinions and experiences of blood donors on the impact of systematic blood donation on the human body. Material and Methods. The research was carried out using a diagnostic survey method. The author's questionnaire consists of 12 closed questions and the certificate. It had been filled by 2387 respondents (blood donors). The calculations were made using the IBM SPSS Statistics 20 program. The level of significance was specified at the level of p ≤ 0.05. Results. Most (78.3%) of blood donors believe that donating blood cannot be addictive. The largest percentage of the respondents (85.2%) believe that there is no overproduction of blood due to regular blood donation. Most of the respondents (80.6%) mentioned better mental well-being as the greatest advantage of donating blood for human body. Conclusions. Promotion of blood donation should be based on the knowledge and experience of honorary blood donors. The belief that there are no side effects associated with donating blood grows with the amount of donation. Blood donors decide to donate blood mainly for altruistic reasons.Wstęp. Honorowe dawstwo krwi polega na bezinteresownym oddawaniu krwi przez osoby zdrowe chorym, którzy wymagają transfuzji. W ostatnim czasie w Polsce obserwuje się spadek liczby donacji krwi, spowodowany m.in. zmianami demograficznymi oraz epidemiami. Niezwykle istotny wpływ na to zjawisko ma również występowanie mitów dotyczących krwiodawstwa. Skutki oddawania krwi dla organizmu najbardziej obiektywnie ocenić mogą sami honorowi dawcy krwi. Celem badania było poznanie opinii honorowych dawców krwi na temat wpływu systematycznego oddawania krwi na organizm ludzki oraz ich doświadczeń związanych z donacjami krwi. Materiał i metody. Badanie przeprowadzono metodą sondażu diagnostycznego z wykorzystaniem autorskiego kwestionariusza ankiety składającego się z 6 pytań zamkniętych oraz 5 pytań metryczkowych. Przebadano grupę 2387 krwiodawców. Obliczenia wykonano przy użyciu programu IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Poziom istotności określono na poziomie p ≤ 0,05. Wyniki. W większości (78,3%) honorowi dawcy krwi uważają, że od oddawania krwi nie można się uzależnić. Największy odsetek respondentów (85,2%) jest zdania, że w związku z regularnym oddawaniem krwi nie może dojść do zjawiska jej nadprodukcji. Większość ankietowanych (81,4%) za największą zaletę oddawania krwi uznaje lepsze samopoczucie psychiczne po oddaniu krwi. Wnioski. Promocja krwiodawstwa powinna bazować na wiedzy i doświadczeniu honorowych dawców krwi. Przekonanie o braku skutków ubocznych związanych z oddawaniem krwi wzrasta wraz z liczbą donacji. Krwiodawcy decydują się na oddawanie krwi głównie z powodów altruistycznych

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on job satisfaction among professionally active nurses in five European countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the work of many medical professionals, including the group of nurses. This study aimed at assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on job satisfaction of nursing staff in five European countries. The study was conducted using the Job Satisfaction Scale (SSP) and original questions on the job satisfaction. The cross-sectional online study was conducted with a sample of 1,012 professionally active nurses working in Poland, Germany, Italy, Great Britain and Sweden, who assessed their job satisfaction before (retrospectively) and during the pandemic. The results showed a significant decrease in job satisfaction due to the need to perform it during the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In 8 out of 10 examined parameters of job satisfaction, a statistically significant decrease in job satisfaction was observed at the level of p < 0.05. Among the examined factors influencing job satisfaction, the highest decrease was recorded based on the assessment of working conditions (1,480). A high level of satisfaction with the work of nurses has a significant impact on providing better patient care as well as reducing the risk of professional burnout of nurses

Characteristics of Cry1Ab Protein from Bioinsecticides and Insect Resistant GM Crops

Biological insecticides are an effective method used in plant protection. One of the most widely used active substances in biological insecticides is Cry1Ab protein, which is toxic for lepidopteran insects. This protein is produced during bacterial sporulation by Bacillus thuringiensis. Other sources of Cry1Ab protein are genetically modified plants (GM) with expression of cry1Ab gene. Cry1Ab protein in both bioinsecticides and GM plants is present in the form of protoxin, which requires activation by enzymatic treatment in the gut of susceptible insects. So far, Cry1Ab mode of action is not fully understood, but there are 3 main concepts describing it. Two of them assume that a toxic protein after binding to receptors in the insect gut penetrates into the cells, causing pore formation in the gut, which leads to the death of the sensitive insect. In the third model Cry1Ab toxic action is a result of toxin-induced chemical processes initiating a cell death pathway. This work describes the structure and mode of action of Cry1Ab protein, present in biological insecticides and genetically modified plants