| 1.Red blood cells must be used within 42 days. |
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| 2. Blood makes up about 7 percent of your body's weight. |
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| 3. The average adult has 10 pints of blood in his or her body. |
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| 4. Blood fights against infection and helps heal wounds, keeping you healthy. |
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| 5. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body's organs and tissue. |
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| 6. There are about one billion red blood cells in two to three drops of blood. |
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| 7. Red blood cells live about 120 days in the circulatory system. |
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| 8. Platelets must be used within five days of collection, hence blood donations are especially needed around 3-day weekends. |
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| 9. Plasma can be frozen and used for up to a year. |
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| 10. Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma and platelets. |
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| 11. People who have been in car accidents and suffered massive blood loss can need transfusions of 50 units or more of red blood cells. |
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| 12. Plasma is a pale yellow mixture of water, proteins and salts. |
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| 13. Plasma, which is 90 percent water, constitutes 55 percent of blood volume. |
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| 14. Cancer, transplant and trauma patients and patients undergoing open heart surgery require platelet transfusions to survive. |
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| 15. White cells are the body's primary defense against infection. |
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| 16. There is no substitute for human blood. |
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| 17. Much of today's medical care depends on a steady supply of blood from healthy donors. |
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| 18. People donate blood out of a sense of duty and community spirit, not to make money. |
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| 19. Every two seconds someone needs blood. |
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| 20. Blood centers often run short of type O and B blood. |
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| 21. Shortages of all types of blood occur during the summer and winter holidays. |
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| 22. Anyone who is in good health, is at least 17 years old, and weighs at least 110 pounds may donate blood every 56 days. |
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| 23. The actual blood donation usually takes less than 10 minutes. The entire process, from when you sign in to the time you leave, takes about an hour. |
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| 24. Giving blood will not decrease your strength. |
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| 25. Apheresis (ay-fur-ee-sis) is a special kind of blood donation that allows a donor to give specific blood components, such as platelets. |
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| 26. You cannot get AIDS or any other blood disease by donating blood. |
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| 27. More than 10 tests are performed on each unit of donated blood. |
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| 28. 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. |
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| 29. Some patients with complications from severe sickle cell disease receive blood transfusions every month. |
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| 30. The average bone marrow transplant requires 120 units of platelets and about 20 units of red blood cells. |
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| 31. Severe burn victims can need 20 units of platelets during their treatment. |
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| 32. Children being treated for cancer, premature infants, and children having heart surgery need blood and platelets from donors of all types. |
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| 33. If you began donating blood at age 17 and donated every 56 days until you reached 76, you would have donated 48 gallons of blood. |
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| 34. About 3 gallons of blood supports the entire nation's blood needs for one minute |
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| 35. One out of every 10 people entering a hospital needs blood. |
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| 36. The average red blood cell transfusion is 3.4 pints. |
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| 37. Females receive 53% of blood transfused; males receive 47%. |
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| 38. A newborn baby has about one cup of blood in his or her body. |
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| 39. After donating blood, you replace your red blood cells within three to four weeks. However, takes four to six weeks to restore the iron lost after donating. |
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| 40. Since a pint is pound, you lose a pound every time you donate blood. |
