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About Blood
 | Blood cannot be manufactured. Its only source is a healthy volunteer donor. |
| Blood transports nutrients and oxygen, fights infection, provides clotting factors and
eliminates wastes. |
| The average adult body contains about 10 to 12 pints of blood. |
About Blood Types
| People are one of four blood types; A, B, AB and O, and are either Rh positive or Rh
negative. |
| Blood types are inherited. |
| Type O + is the most common blood type. During periods of shortage, it is the first to
"feel the pinch" since most patients will have Type O + blood. |
| In an emergency, anyone can receive type O red blood cells. Therefore, people with type
O blood are known as "universal donors". |
| Type AB individuals can receive red blood cells of any ABO group. Those with AB blood
are know as "universal recipients". |
| Blood types are distributed in the general population as follows:
| O Rh-positive |
38 percent |
| O Rh-negative |
7 percent |
| A Rh-positive |
34 percent |
| A Rh-negative |
6 percent |
| B Rh-positive |
9 percent |
| B Rh-negative |
2 percent |
| AB Rh-positive |
3 percent |
| AB Rh-negative |
1 percent |
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What Happens to Donated Blood
| Each unit of blood collected undergoes a series of infectious disease tests, including:
 | HTLV-1 antibody |
| Hepatitis B surface antigen |
| ALT |
| Hepatitis B core antibody |
| HIV 1/2 (AIDS) antibody |
| Hepatitis C antibody |
| HIV antigen |
| Syphilis screening |
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| Whole blood has a shelf life of 42 days, platelets expire after 5 days and plasma can be
frozen and stored for up to one year. |
| A number of blood components are derived from whole blood product
| Red blood cells - used by patients with anemia or during surgery |
| Platelets - used by patients with cancer or leukemia |
| Plasma - used by patients in shock or to treat clotting deficiencies |
| Cryoprecipitate - used to prevent or control bleeding in hemophiliacs |
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| These components can be given to several different people. |
| Blood products are used for surgery, trauma, chemotherapy, kidney dialysis, hemophilia,
shock and other life-threatening conditions. |
| In the United States, one out of every 10 hospital patients needs blood -- one patient
every 12 seconds. How much blood is needed by a patient depends on the type of surgery and
whether or not there are complications. Typical blood usages (in units) might be as
follows:
| Liver transplant - 20 units of red cells, 20 units of plasma, 10 units of platelets |
| Heart transplant - 0 to 4 units of red cells |
| Miscarriage - 2 to 4 units of red cells |
| Orthopedic Surgery- 2 units of red cells |
| Prostate cancer - 4 to 6 units of red cells |
| Hysterectomy with complications - 2 to 4 units of red cells |
| Aneurysm - 6 units of red cells, 4 units of plasma |
| Bone marrow transplant - 1 to 2 units of red cells a week; 6 to 8 units of platelets
daily for 4 to 6 weeks |
| Automobile accident - 4 to 40 units of red cells |
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| The chances of getting AIDS from a blood transfusion are now less than 1/676,000, due to
the instituion in 1996 of the HIV antigen test. (Reduced to 24 cases per year). |
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