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Special Blood Fact File
1501/ About 14 million
units of blood are donated in the United States each year
by approximately eight million volunteer blood donors. These
units are transfused to as many as four million patients per
year. On any given day, approximately 40,000 units of red
blood cells are needed, and more than 23 million units of
blood components are transfused every year. Despite these
amazing statistics, less than 5% of those eligible to donate
blood actually do so. (See links at
the bottom of this page to join the 5%. Be a winner. Donate
today. And remember, any blood you give will on average help
three other people)
1502/ Whole blood is
just as it sounds-it is blood with all of its components intact.
Whole blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells and
platelets suspended in a proteinaceous fluid called plasma.
These parts can be separated from whole blood in order to
provide patients with superior treatment by giving them the
specific elements they need. It also eliminates waste by excluding
non-essential components for each particular treatment.
1503/ Platelets are
colourless cells, produced in the bone marrow by the fragments
of megakaryocytes, whose main function is to control bleeding
by helping to form wound - healing blood clots. Platelets
also assure that blood vessels stay leakproof in daily life.
Platelets adhere to torn blood vessels to create a plug, slowing
the loss of blood.
1504/ There are four
main Blood types: A, B, AB and O and each Blood type is either
Rh positive or negative.
1505/ Blood types in
the US - Type O positive 38.4%, O negative 7.7%, A positive
32.3%, A negative 6.5%, B positive 9.4%, B negative 1.7%,
AB positive 3.2%, AB negative 0.7%.
1506/ Elizabeth Bathory
was born in 1560 into a very wealthy family in Europe. She
married Count Ferenz, known as the Black Hero of Hungary,
at 15, and went to live with him at Castle Csejthe in the
Hungarian countryside. One day her maid pulled her hair while
combing it, so Elizabeth slapped her and gave her a bloody
nose. When the blood spurted from the maids nose, Elizabeth
thought the skin smeared by the blood looked fresher, smoother
and more youthful than it had appeared for years, so she ordered
the maids wrists be slit, and she was drained of blood, which
Elizabeth then bathed in. This occurred for years, she would
send her henchman out to find young unmarried woman and bring
them back to work as maids. She would throw the drained bodies
out of the castle for the wolves to devour.
In 1610 the wolves did
not devour the bodies before local inhabitants found the corpses
and raised the alarm to the King himself. The king sent Elizabeth's
own cousin with a detachment of soldiers to raid the castle.
They found several half alive tortured servants that had puncture
wounds to their wrists, and about 50 bodies buried outside
the castle. Sixteen of Elizabeth's staff, her sorceress and
torturer accomplices were arrested and taken to jail and all
found guilty. Most were beheaded and cremated, but two were
burned alive. Elizabeth refused to testify, and was confined
to her bedchamber with only a narrow slit left open for food,
water and air to get in. She survived in this state for four
years.
1507/ Human blood consists
of about 22 percent solids and 78 percent water.
1508/ Type O Negative
is the "universal donor;" it can be transfused to
anyone, whether their blood type is positive or negative.
1509/ Suppose there
was a road accident and ten people needed transfusions to
save their lives. The average breakdown of the blood types
that would be needed is:
4 or 5 would need Type
A blood
4 or 5 would need Type O blood
1 would need Type B blood
Any of these patients could receive O Negative red blood cells
if their type isn't available. Type AB donors would be important
because their plasma could quickly replace lost blood volume
or help control bleeding.
1510/ Under normal resting
conditions, the blood pressure against the artery walls is
about 120 mm Hg when the heart muscle contracts (systole),
and about 80 mm Hg when the heart muscle relaxes between beats
(diastole) resting systolic readings above 140 mm Hg or diastolic
readings above 90 mm Hg are typically considered hypertensive,
indicating that the pressure of the blood against the artery
walls is higher than desirable and may pose a health risk
if it remains at these levels.
1511/ White cells (leukocytes)
are the protective cells in the blood stream. They attack
bacteria by squeezing through capillary walls to reach the
area of infection where they destroy bacteria. White blood
cells are also made in the bone marrow, and are produced at
twice the rate of red blood cells. A disease related to white
cells is Leukemia.
1512/ Heart surgery uses
an average of six pints of red blood cells and six pints of
platelets. The average liver transplant patient needs 40 pints
of red blood cells, 30 pints of platelets, 20 bags of cryoprecipitate,
and 25 pints of fresh frozen plasma. The average bone marrow
transplant requires 120 pints of platelets and about 20 pints
of red blood cells.
1513/ The blood volume
in a healthy adult amounts to 8% of total body weight. For
example, if you weigh 100 lbs, 8 lbs of blood is circulating
in your body. So, an average man has 12 pints of blood, and
the average woman has about 9 pints.
1514/ Women are transfused
with slightly more than half of the blood used in the United
States, and people 65 and older use approximately 45 percent
of all blood products. If you live to the age of 72, there
is a 95 percent chance that you will have a need for blood
products during your lifetime.
1515/ One out of every
10 people entering a hospital needs blood. Every three seconds
someone needs blood, and approximately every 10 seconds, someone
in the United States is receiving a blood transfusion. Approximately
3 gallons of blood supports the entire nation's blood needs
for one minute.
1516/ Since a pint is
a pound, you lose a pound every time you donate blood.
1517/ The Red Cross has
one of the world’s largest registry of rare blood donors
and maintains a frozen supply of rare blood available for
immediate shipment around the globe. This registry is tapped
daily, responding to more than 1,000 requests each year.
1518/ Frequency of major
blood groups in the UK population: (RH = Rhesus - Pos = Positive
- Neg = Negative)
O Rh (D) Pos 38%
Rh (D) Neg 7%
Overall 45%
A Rh (D) Pos 36%
Rh (D) Neg 7%
Overall 43%
B Rh (D) Pos 8%
Rh (D) Neg 1%
Overall 9%
AB Rh (D) Pos 2%
Rh (D) Neg 1%
Overall 3%
Total Rh (D) Pos 84%
Total Rh (D) Neg 16%
1519/ Red blood cells
can be stored for up to 42 days at 1-6°C and 10 years
if frozen. Platelets must be kept at room temperature and
expire in 5 days. Fresh frozen plasma and CRYO must be stored
at -18°C for no longer than 1 year.
1520/ Blood cells are
made in the bone marrow. The bone marrow is the soft, spongy
material in the centre of the bones that produces about 95
percent of the body's blood cells. Coagulation proteins (clotting
factors) are made in the liver and water comes from the body's
general fluid content.
Click on the links below for more great
facts...
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