Blood Donor InformationÌ

• The American Red Cross supplies about one-half of all the blood products used in the country.
• Hospitals in our area use about 1,500 blood products each day.
• Donated blood is broken down into its three main components:  red cells, platelets and plasma.
• Each unit of blood you donate can help up to 3 different people.
• Red blood cells can be stored for 42 days and platelets for only 5 days.
• All donated blood goes through testing for HIV, hepatitis and other diseases.
• Type O negative blood can be transfused to 100% of people.
• Type O positive is the most common blood type.
• There is still no substitute for human blood.
• 1 in 10 persons entering the hospital need blood.
• Every 2 seconds, someone in the U.S. receives a blood transfusion.
• You can give blood every 56 days.
• The average blood donation only takes about 10 minutes.
• There is no upper age limit for giving blood.
• If you begin giving blood at the age 17 and donate every 56 days until you reach the age of  76, you will donate about 48 gallons of blood.
• Persons 65 years and older compose 13 percent of the population, but they use 25 percent of all blood units transfused.
• Only 5% of the eligible population gives blood.