Today we had a 'family activity'.
Molly, Jamie, Andrew and I all went and gave blood.
It was Andrew's first time. He did great!
10 Facts About Blood
- 4.5 million Americans will a need blood transfusion each year.
- 43,000 pints: amount of donated blood used each day in the U.S. and Canada.
- Someone needs blood every two seconds.
- Only 37 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood – less than 10 percent do annually.**
- About 1 in 7 people entering a hospital need blood.
- One pint of blood can save up to three lives.
- Healthy adults who are at least 16 years old, and at least 110 pounds may donate about a pint of blood – the most common form of donation – every 56 days, or every two months. Females receive 53 percent of blood transfusions; males receive 47 percent.
- 94 percent of blood donors are registered voters.
- Four main red blood cell types: A, B, AB and O. Each can be positive or negative for the Rh factor. AB is the universal recipient; O negative is the universal donor of red blood cells.
- Dr. Karl Landsteiner first identified the major human blood groups – A, B, AB and O – in 1901.
