Blood Facts

-- I mistakenly saved this as draft on Friday. :P --

A few facts about blood:

1. Someone needs blood every three seconds.
2. One out of ten hospital patients needs blood.
3. Three: the number of lives saved by one pint of donated blood.
4. Four main blood types: A, B, AB and O. AB is the universal recipient, O negative is the universal donor.
5. 5 litres: amount of blood in the body of an average adult.
6. One unit of blood is roughly the equivalent of 400 ml.
7. Blood makes up about 7% of your body's weight.
8. Every hour of the day 8 units of blood are consumed.
9. At least 200 units of blood are needed daily.
10. Blood centers often run short of types O and B blood.
11. One billion: the number of red blood cells in two to three drops of blood.
12. Red blood cells live about 120 days in the circulatory system.
13. One unit of blood can be separated into several components: red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate. Apheresis is a special kind of blood donation that allows a donor to give specific blood components, such as platelets. 42 days: the shelf life of donated red blood cells.
14. Five days: the shelf life of donated platelets.
15. One year: the shelf life of frozen plasma.
16. 3.4 pints: the average red blood cell transfusion.
17. Car accident and blood loss victims can need transfusions of 50 pints or more of red blood cells.
18. Bone marrow transplant patients need platelet donations from about 120 people and red blood cells from about 20 people.
19. Severe burn victims can need 20 units of platelets during their treatment.
20. Children being treated for cancer, premature infants and children having heart surgery need blood and platelets from donors of all types.
21. Anaemic patients need blood transfusions to increase their iron levels.
22. Cancer, transplant and trauma patients, and patients undergoing open-heart surgery require platelet transfusions to survive.
23. Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease that affects more than 80,000 people in the United States, 98% of whom are of African descent. Some patients with complications from severe sickle cell disease receive blood transfusions every month: up to 4 pints at a time.
24. Females receive 53% of blood transfusions; males receive 47%.
25. Four steps to donate blood: medical history, quick physical, donation and snacks. The actual blood donation usually takes less than ten minutes. The entire process -- from the time you sign in to the time you leave -- takes about an hour.
26. Giving blood will not decrease your strength.
27. You cannot get AIDS or any other infectious disease by donating blood.
28. 14 tests (11 for infectious diseases) are performed on each unit of donated blood.
29. After donating blood, you replace these red blood cells within four weeks. It takes eight weeks to restore the iron lost after donating.
30. There is no substitute for human blood.
31. Anyone in good health, at least 18 years old, and at least 45 kg may donate blood every 3 months.
32. A majority of Malaysians are elligible to donate blood. However, only a minority actually do donate.
33. "Never thought about it" is the main reason for some for not giving, while some say they're too busy. The #1 reason donors say they give is because they "want to help others." People donate blood out of a sense of duty and community spirit, not to make money. They are not paid for their donation.
34. 65 litres: amount of blood you could donate if you begin at age 18 and donate every 3 months until you reach 60 years old.

You would think that I'd have done just about enough about blood during my haematology system block, but there was yet another practical lesson to be learnt about blood, and it came with the annual IMU Cares blood donation drive in conjunction with the IMU Cup.

My history in relation to blood donation is, to say the least, eventful. The first time I had anything to do with a blood donation drive was in Taylor's College. As part of the Pre-Med Society, I was helping to run the Health Week, which included a blood donation drive. I didn't get to donate then as I was underage and my parents were too far away to sign the consent form.

In IMU Sheena got us all fired up to give blood, so as to contribute to our IMU Cup standing. There was a vague sense of excitement as I waited for my finger to be pricked for the blood grouping and haemoglobin (that's the molecule that carries O2 around in your blood) level testing. Everything was fine there, so I moved on to the blood pressure station. Now, it may seem surprising but prior to that time I had never checked my BP before and always assumed that since I was fit, it was at its normal level. So naturally when the nurse told me that I had a BP of 90/60 (normal = 120/80) I was shocked. She asked me to drink a cup of Milo to try and elevate my BP, and I did, but it still stayed low. This called for drastic measures. The IMU building consists of 4 floors, including the rooftop, so off I went to the stairwell to run up and down the flights of stairs a few times. I went back to the donation drive venue flustered and feeling very energetic, but my BP was STILL LOW!! I'm kind of surprised my frustration didn't make it go up either. :> But that was the end of the drive and my attempts to donate my blood for that year.

Earlier this year the Dharma Society organised a blood donation drive and I had my BP checked before the finger-pricking. It was still low, so I saved myself the minor trauma of a fingerprick. And recently another drive for IMU Cup was held and I was quite determined to donate my blood this time around. On the first day, I dragged poor Chin off to CSU to check my BP, which was a normal 110/70! I rushed off to fill the form and get my fingerprick test.
The fingerprick test is to check for your blood grouping, whether A, B, AB, or O; it also serves to check for your blood haemoglobin level. They drop a bit of your blood into a small bottle filled with a blue solution of copper (II) sulphate and see if it sinks or rises. If it sinks, you're good to go, but if it rises, as it sometimes does especially with women, they take some more of your blood and run it through an automatic haemoglobin counter. If your level is below 12.5 g/dl, then you can't donate blood. On that first day, my drop of blood stayed stubbornly in the middle of the bottle before rising up to the surface of the liquid. The counter calculated a level of 11.8 g/dl, just 0.7 off the mark! So I couldn't donate. The fingerprick was for nothing. To be on the safe side, I downed an iron tablet, though I knew that it wouldn't work in just 24 hours.

The next day, I decided to attempt again. The counter seemed to take an agonisingly long time to calculate, until it showed a level of 13.5! I rushed off to the BP station, only to be told that it was at 80/60, terribly low. Attempt foiled again!

Well, there was supposedly an overwhelming response to the drive and they decided to extend it for a half-day. On a whim, and partly because I had nothing else to do that time, I went to check my BP. It was 100/60 - just borderline to donate! And my haemoglobin level was up 0.1 to 13.6! I was finally fit enough to donate. My blood flow was quite slow though, partly because my veins are small, and I had to keep pumping to get my blood flowing. I don't think I even filled the bag to its fullest. But it doesn't matter, I finally donated blood, and I have a scar (temporary of course), a certificate and a red booklet to show for it. Hopefully this is a beginning of a lifetime of blood donations. :)

To all of you out there who have never thought of donating blood and don't have problems like I do (:P) please go and try. This is an especially good time because our Muslim friends have just started fasting, and the need for blood is greater during the fasting month. Your blood can save lives.

Incidentally, you can donate your organs, eg. kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, pancreas, and tissues, eg. eyes, bone, skin, as well. Since our bodies are not our own, and it’s going to decay anyway, why not give it a thought?

Save lives: pledge your organs and give your blood.

hmm… that sounds quite creepy…