Blood Facts...
- On any given day, an average of 38,000 units of red blood cells are needed for hospital patients in the United States.
- One in 10 people entering a hospital needs blood.
- Approximately 38% of the population is eligible to donate blood. Of those eligible, only a small fraction have actually given blood.
- In the United States, someone needs a blood transfusion about every two seconds.
- The average adult body contains 10-12 pints of blood. A newborn baby has about one cup of blood in his or her body.
- There are about one billion red blood cells in two to three drops of blood.
- Red blood cells must be transfused within 42 days.
- There is no substitute for human blood. It cannot be manufactured.
- Almost everyone will know someone who needs blood.
- Blood is often needed for traumas, heart surgeries, joint replacements, organ transplants, premature babies, leukemia and cancer treatments, and much more.
- People in car accidents who suffer massive blood loss may require transfusion of more than 50 pints of red blood cells.