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SOME FACTS ABOUT BLOOD The Blood in Your Body
The average adult’s body contains about 10 to 12 pints of blood.
Manufactured in the bone marrow, red blood cells are continuously being
produced and broken down. They live for approximately 120 days in the circulatory system
and are eventually removed by the spleen.
Platelets are made in the bone marrow and survive in the circulatory system for an average
of 9-10 days before being removed from the body by the spleen.
Plasma
is the liquid portion of the blood--a protein-salt solution in which red and white blood
cells and platelets are suspended.
Blood transports nutrients and defensive anti-bodies, cells, and clotting
factors; red blood cells deliver or release oxygen.
A Single Donation Sustains More Than One Life One donation can be separated into components and used to treat several patients. Some uses for blood components through transfusion therapy follow:
Packed red cells are prescribed for anemic patients.
Platelet concentrates control bleeding in leukemic patients.
Plasma from many donors is pooled to make derivatives such as antihemophilic
factor, albumin for the treatment of shock, and gamma globulin which may prevent or make
less severe certain diseases.
Cryoprecipitate is administered to patients with hemophilia A.
What’s Your Blood Type? Find Out by Donating. Blood groups are inherited. In our population the following percentages are found for ABO and Rh blood groups:
38% will have group O positive blood.
7% will have group O negative blood.
34% will have group A positive blood.
6% will have group A negative blood.
9% will have group B positive blood.
2% will have group B negative blood.
3% will have group AB positive blood.
1% will have group AB negative blood.
(The actual percentages of blood types may vary from one region to the next. These figures reflect the average of seven Red Cross blood services regions.) Giving Blood is Safe and Easy.
Your body quickly replaces the blood you give.
It is safe and easy to donate blood. An hour is all it takes to give blood to
save another’s life - the actual donation time is often less than ten minutes.
Whole blood has a shelf life of 35 days. Red blood cells last 42 days and
platelets only five days.
If you are aged 17 or over, you are eligible to donate blood. Some states
require a parent’s written consent if you are under 18. If you are aged 66 or over,
you may be accepted as a donor, after your health history is evaluated at the blood
collection site.
The Red Cross collects blood only from voluntary donors.
A Cost-Recovery-Based Service Red Cross regional blood services are financed by recovering expenses from the users of their services. The Red Cross charges hospitals a processing fee to cover the expenses of recruiting, collecting, testing, processing, and distributing blood and blood products. This fee is directly related to costs. Hospitals pass the charges on to the patient whose health insurance plan usually covers the expense. The blood itself is never charged for because it is a volunteer’s free gift.
[Home] [Up] [More facts about blood] [Blood Drive Page] Send mail to bloodct@usa.redcross.org with questions or comments about this web site. Updated: 06/28/99 |
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