hexxus

not much to talk about
not much going on

donating blood for the 25th time tomorrow

i think everyone should try and donate at least once in their lifetime.
ive already scheduled myself an appointment to donate in oakland after i move, anyone want to come with me?
i signed up to donate on march 15th =]


1. Every 2 seconds someone needs blood.
2. Blood is needed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
3. Blood cannot be stored; it is perishable.
4. There is absolutely no health risk from donating blood.
5. Your body has 10-12 pints of blood. Your body will replenish that
lost pint in less than 48 hours.
6. Less than 5% of the entire U.S. population donates blood.
7. 80% of us will need blood by age 75.
8. The most common blood type is O but all types are needed.
9. Marshall Community Blood Center doesnt need blood. Patients at
Marshall Hospital do.
10. Blood has to be available before it is needed.

red blood cell donations must be used within 42 days of its donation time, or it becomes unusable.

1. 4.5 million Americans will a need blood transfusion each year.
2. 43,000 pints: amount of donated blood used each day in the U.S. and Canada.
3. Someone needs blood every two seconds.
4. Only 37 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood less than 10 percent do annually.**
5. About 1 in 7 people entering a hospital need blood.
6. One pint of blood can save up to three lives.
7. Healthy adults who are at least 17 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.
8. 94 percent of blood donors are registered voters.
9. 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.
10. Dr. Karl Landsteiner first identified the major human blood groups A, B, AB and O in 1901.
11. One unit of blood can be separated into several components: red blood cells, plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate.
12. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the bodys organs and tissues.
13. Red blood cells live about 120 days in the circulatory system.
14. Platelets promote blood clotting and give those with leukemia and other cancers a chance to live.
15. Plasma is a pale yellow mixture of water, proteins and salts.
16. Plasma, which is 90 percent water, makes up 55 percent of blood volume.
17. Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma and platelets.
18. Blood or plasma that comes from people who have been paid for it cannot be used to human transfusion.
19. Granulocytes, a type of white blood cell, roll along blood vessel walls in search of bacteria to engulf and destroy.
20. White cells are the body's primary defense against infection.
21. Apheresis is a special kind of blood donation that allows a donor to give specific blood components, such as platelets.
22. Forty-two days: how long most donated red blood cells can be stored.
23. Five days: how long most donated platelets can be stored.
24. One year: how long frozen plasma can be stored.
25. Much of today's medical care depends on a steady supply of blood from healthy donors.
26. 3 pints: the average whole blood and red blood cell transfusion.*
27. Children being treated for cancer, premature infants and children having heart surgery need blood and platelets from donors of all types, especially type O.
28. Anemic patients need blood transfusions to increase their red blood cell levels.
29. Cancer, transplant and trauma patients, and patients undergoing open-heart surgery may require platelet transfusions to survive.
30. Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease that affects more than 80,000 people in the United States, 98 percent of whom are of African descent.
31. Many patients with severe sickle cell disease receive blood transfusions every month.
32. A patient could be forced to pass up a lifesaving organ, if compatible blood is not available to support the transplant.
33. Thirteen tests (11 for infectious diseases) are performed on each unit of donated blood.
34. 17 percent of non-donors cite -never thought about it- as the main reason for not giving, while 15 percent say they're too busy.
35. The #1 reason blood donors say they give is because they -want to help others.-
36. Shortages of all blood types happen during the summer and winter holidays.
37. Blood centers often run short of types O and B red blood cells.
38. The rarest blood type is the one not on the shelf when it's needed by a patient.
39. There is no substitute for human blood.
40. If all blood donors gave three times a year, blood shortages would be a rare event (The current average is about two.).
41. If only one more percent of all Americans would give blood, blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future.
42. 46.5 gallons: amount of blood you could donate if you begin at age 17 and donate every 56 days until you reach 79 years old.
43. Four easy steps to donate blood: medical history, quick physical, donation and snacks.
44. The actual blood donation usually takes about 10 minutes. The entire process from the time you sign in to the time you leave takes about an hour.
45. After donating blood, you replace the fluid in hours and the red blood cells within four weeks. It takes eight weeks to restore the iron lost after donating.
46. You cannot get AIDS or any other infectious disease by donating blood.
47. 10 pints: amount of blood in the body of an average adult.
48. One unit of whole blood is roughly the equivalent of one pint.
49. Blood makes up about 7 percent of your body's weight.
50. A newborn baby has about one cup of blood in his body.
51. Giving blood will not decrease your strength.
52. Any company, community organization, place of worship or individual may contact their local community blood center to host a blood drive.
53. Blood drives hosted by companies, schools, places of worship and civic organizations supply roughly half of all blood donations across the U.S.
54. People who donate blood are volunteers and are not paid for their donation.
55. 500,000: the number of Americans who donated blood in the days following the September 11 attacks.
56. Blood donation. It's about an hour of your time. It's About Life.

to date i have donated 3 gallons of blood. that means i may have helped save up to 72 people. my blood type is O+ which means i can donate to everyone who also has a positive blood type. i can only take O+ and O- blood.

I have been deferred from donating a few times because my iron has been too low. i take a daily iron supplement these days so that i can continue donating. had i not been deferred this would be my 28th time donating, which would make 3.5 gallons!

you need to donate 8 times to make up one gallon.. unless you do a double red cell donation, which i cannot do. lol

no, you do not get paid to donate blood. course, i would think knowing you may be helping someone else by doing so should be enough.

i often wonder who has gotten my blood and why.
i also wonder whose blood i received when i had my surgeries.

either way, donating blood is a good thing. if you can, do it, and do it regularly.

the first time i donated blood was when i was 17 years old. i have been donating regularly for the past two and a half years, and do not plan on stopping.

you can donated 6 times a year.

i think im going to end this now and go get some sleep. if anyone has any questions about donating blood, just ask. i know the drill pretty well by now heheh

take care

Hexx ♥


also, if ever there is someone in my life who needs something like blood or bone marrow, i would donate at the drop of a hat, if i am able to help them in that way.

i may not be able to help people financially (goodness knows i need the help myself!) but with this kind of stuff, having been through things in life where i needed this kind of help..yeah...

i am also an organ donor. when i die, have at it! lol

and really. how much is the hour you could set aside to do this worth, when it could be helping THREE people


oh yeah, and reading the lovele Merlowe's comment, yes.. they do give out awesome cookies - sometimes even if you are unable to actually donate.
they have juice too heheh