· Volunteer blood donors are the only source of blood products for hospital patients.
· About 20 percent of the blood used in the United States is donated by students.
· One blood donor could save as many as three lives with a single donation.
· Each unit of blood is divided into its component parts: platelets, plasma and red cells.
· All donated blood is tested for transmitted diseases.
· You cannot contract the HIV virus or any other infectious disease by donating blood.
· Four million people need blood every year. That's one patient every 12 seconds.
· Patients in Michigan hospitals use about 2,000 units of blood products daily . . . that's about one unit every 43 seconds.
· The average blood transfusion is 3.4 units (or pints) of blood.
· The average adult has 10 to 12 units of blood in his or her body. A new baby has one cup.
· People are eligible to donate blood every eight weeks.
· Nearly 97 percent of the U.S. population will have received a blood transfusion by age 75, but only 5 percent of the population donates blood.
· Close to 22 percent of patients are over 65 years old. They use about 52 percent of the blood transfused.
· Patients who suffer from sickle cell anemia, cancer, heart disease, leukemia and other major illnesses may
need blood transfusions to survive.
· Blood donors must be at least 17 years old, in good general health and weigh at least 110 pounds.
