Background: The ultimate purpose of blood donation is to obtain blood from healthy donors for use by those
who require a blood transfusion. This becomes possible due to a solid base of blood donors. Oftentimes, students
are recruited as they represent a large potential pool of donors. The results of this survey indicate the areas that
require focus in order to promote voluntary blood donation.
Aim of the study: To determine the amount of knowledge that Opole Medical School students have concerning
blood donation and its treatment.
Material and methods: This research was performed using a diagnostic survey method. One hundred Opole
medical School students anonymously filled out a questionnaire concerning blood donation. Their answers were
analyzed in an “R” statistic and PSPP program. The answer content was assessed with consideration for collegiate
level, medical education, potential blood donation, and contact with blood donors.
Results: 85 % of students think that their knowledge is average. 82 % of students reported understanding that
blood donation is non habit- forming, while 65% were aware there is no risk of blood overproduction in the case
of regular donations. Approximately 22 % of respondents were aware that blood donation has minimal risk for
the donor, but half of the respondents had an incorrect understanding of donor privileges.
Conclusions: Students with medical education, senior level students and those who have contact with honor
blood donors, do not have greater knowledge than other respondents. The greatest knowledge of blood donation
and transfusion have these students who are actually honor blood donors.
Introduction: Psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) is a common dermatosis characterized by excessive activation of neovascularization. Latest research has shown that endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are a crucial factor involved in the repair of endothelial injury and formation of new blood vessels, in a process termed postnatal vasculogenesis. However, the exact mechanism of creating psoriatic skin patches and the involvement of EPCs in this process remains unknown. Aim: To evaluate the number of EPCs in the blood of patients with PsV, characterized by the expression of specific cell surface markers, including CD45-, CD31+, CD34+ and CD133+. Material and methods: A total of 49 patients suffering from PsV and 40 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. The number of EPCs in each of the volunteers' whole blood samples was measured with a FACSCalibur flow cytometer using monoclonal antibodies directed against antigens specific for EPCs. Results: The number of EPCs was significantly higher in patients with psoriasis compared with the controls (p = 0.0007) and inversely correlated with disease severity assessed by PASI score (R = -0.2935, p = 0.0407). Statistical analysis did not show significant relations between the count of EPCs and age, body mass index, gender, disease duration, blood pressure, extent of itching, severity and frequency of pruritus, presence of bruises, vitamin D supplementation and smoking habit. Conclusions: The results of our studies indicate that patients with psoriasis showed an increased mobilization of EPCs compared with healthy individuals which correlated negatively with disease severity.
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