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Blood
Donations
Register to
donate blood TODAY! Make an easy ONLINE APPOINTMENT
to expedite the process.
Blood
Services
The Red Cross, with the help of
volunteers,
provides blood service programs that address our community's
needs. Annually, four million volunteers donate six million
units of blood across the nation. Six new blood tests have
been administered into the blood services program to assure
safe supplies of blood to the public. Because one out of every
10 hospital patients receives blood, the Red Cross will
continuously support and provide blood services.
Some
Facts About Blood
An average adult's body contains
about 10 to 12 pints of blood. Your body continuously replaces
its red cells, making new ones with iron salvaged from old
ones that have been retired. Blood transports nutrients and
defensive antibodies, cells, and clotting factors; red blood
cells deliver or release oxygen.
A
Single Donation Sustains More Than One Life!
One donation can be separated
into components and used to treat several patients. Some uses
for blood components follow:
- Packed red cells are
prescribed for anemic patients.
- Platelet concentrates control
bleeding in leukemic patients.
- Plasma from many donors is
pooled to make derivatives such as antihemophilicfactor,
albumin for the treatment of shock, and gamma globulin which
may prevent or make less severe certain diseases.
- Cryoprecipitate is
administered to patients with hemophilia A.
What
is Your Blood Type?
Blood groups are inherited. In
our population the following percentages are found for ABO and
Rh blood groups:
- 38.4 will have group O
positive blood.
- 7.7 will have group O negative
blood.
- 32.3 will have group A
positive blood.
- 6.5 will have group A negative
blood.
- 9.4 will have group B positive
blood.
- 1.7 will have group B negative
blood.
- 3.2 will have group AB
positive blood.
- 0.7 will have group AB
negative blood
Actual
percentages will vary from region to region. These percentages
are based on an average
value. | 
