National short film competition on blood donation opens

EMN
Dimapur, July 30

The national short film competition on voluntary blood donation is being organized by a group called the Friends2support.org in association with the National Blood Transfusion Council of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Interested candidates are encouraged to participate in this competition. Last date of entries submission is 31st August, 2015, the organizer informed in a press release issued to the media on Thursday, July 30. No entry fee required to enter the competition.Rules and Regulations as stated by the organizers are:
1. This is a short film competition and hence only short films should be submitted, no documentaries. The entries can be short digital animation films too on the topic.
2. The duration of the film shall not be more than 3 (three) minutes (180 seconds), including the beginning and end credits. Films exceeding this time limit are liable to be rejected. The minimum length should be 30 seconds including credit.
3. The film should have been shot or completed after January 1, 2015.
4. The short films may be in their original language, but must be subtitled in English. Films submitted previously to any other festival will not be considered for this contest. If found later, will be disqualified for the contest/prize withheld.
5. The films may be shot in MPEG4 or AVI format. The recommended ratios are 16:9/16:9 Full Height Anamorphic-in DV/HDV.
6. The participants need to apply online first filling the prescribed form on www.friends2support.org/shortfilm to get a unique code. The code must be mentioned on the DVD to be sent to Friends To Support, Hyderabad office and for future reference.
The grand prize for the winner is Rs. 1,00,000, the second prize 50,000 and the third prize is Rs. 25,000. The prizes will be awarded in Hyderabad on Thursday, October 1, 2015. For more information and queries, interested person can log in to www.friends2support.org.

Citizens’ Factfile: Things you might not know about blood and blood donation
• The rarest blood type is the one not on the shelf when it’s needed by a patient.
• Someone needs blood every two seconds.
• About 1 in 7 people entering a hospital need blood.
• One pint of blood can save up to three lives.
• Healthy adults who are at least 17 years old, and at least 110 pounds may donate about a pint of blood—the most common form of donation—every 56 days, or every two months, depending on iron levels. Females receive 53 percent of blood transfusions; males receive 47 percent.
• 94 percent of blood donors are registered voters.
• Four main red blood cell types: A, B, AB and O. Each can be positive or negative for the Rh factor. AB is the universal recipient; O negative is the universal donor of red blood cells.
• Dr. Karl Landsteiner first identified the major human blood groups – A, B, AB and O – in 1901.
• One unit of blood can be separated into several components: red blood cells, plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate.
• Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues.
• Platelets promote blood clotting and give those with leukemia and other cancers a chance to live.
• Plasma is a pale yellow mixture of water, proteins and salts.
• Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma and platelets.
• Blood or plasma that comes from people who have been paid for it cannot be used to human transfusion.
• Granulocytes, a type of white blood cell, roll along blood vessel walls in search of bacteria to engulf and destroy.
• White cells are the body’s primary defense against infection.
• Apheresis is a special kind of blood donation that allows a donor to give specific blood components, such as platelets.
• 42 days: how long most donated red blood cells can be stored.
• Five days: how long most donated platelets can be stored.
• One year: how long frozen plasma can be stored.
• Much of today’s medical care depends on a steady supply of blood from healthy donors.
• Children being treated for cancer, premature infants and children having heart surgery need blood and platelets from donors of all types, especially type O.
• Anemic patients need blood transfusions to increase their red blood cell levels.
• Cancer, transplant and trauma patients, and patients undergoing open-heart surgery may require platelet transfusions to survive.
• A patient could be forced to pass up a lifesaving organ, if compatible blood is not available to support the transplant.
• 17 percent of non-donors cite “never thought about it” as the main reason for not giving, while 15 percent say they’re too busy.
• The #1 reason blood donors say they give is because they “want to help others.”
• Shortages of all blood types happen during the summer and winter holidays.
• Blood centers often run short of types O and B red blood cells.
• There is no substitute for human blood.
• If only one more percent of all Americans would give blood, blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future.
• Four easy steps to donate blood: medical history, quick physical, donation and snacks.
• The actual blood donation usually takes about 10 minutes. The entire process – from the time you sign in to the time you leave – takes about an hour.
• After donating blood, you replace the fluid in hours and the red blood cells within four weeks. It takes eight weeks to restore the iron lost after donating.
• You cannot get AIDS or any other infectious disease by donating blood.
• 10 pints: amount of blood in the body of an average adult.
• Blood makes up about 7 percent of your body’s weight.
• A newborn baby has about one cup of blood in his body.
• Giving blood will not decrease your strength.
• People who donate blood are volunteers and are not paid for their donation.
• 500,000: the number of Americans who donated blood in the days following the September 11 attacks.
Blood donation. The entire process takes about one hour and 15 minutes; the actual donation of a pint of whole blood unit takes eight to 10 minutes. However, the time varies slightly with each person depending on several factors including the donor’s health history and attendance at the blood drive. It’s about an hour of your time. It’s About Life.