LEARN ABOUT
BLOOD AND PLASMA DONATION

DID YOU KNOW…

• 

  1 blood donation can help up to 3 people.¹

• 

  1200 plasma donations to treat one patient for hemophilia.⁸

• 

  Donating blood can help millions each year — not just for use in emergencies, but also long-term treatments.²

• 

  In low-income countries, up to 65% of blood transfusions are given to children under 5 years of age.³

• 234 million major operations are performed worldwide, which may involve blood transfusions.²
• It takes more than 130 plasma donations to treat one patient with a primary immune deficiency.⁶
• Blood has a short shelf life. Red blood cells can be stored for just 42 days, and platelets can be stored for only 5 days.¹
• Blood cannot be artificially made, and there are no substitutes for blood.¹

• HOW LONG WILL MY BODY TAKE TO REPLACE WHAT WAS DONATED?

  Platelets will return to normal levels within a few hours of donating. Plasma takes a couple of days to be replaced. Red cells can take two weeks or longer to fully return to normal.⁴

• IS IT SAFE TO GIVE BLOOD AND PLASMA?

  Donating blood is a safe process. Blood is collected through a new sterile needle that is used once and then discarded.⁴

• HOW CAN ONE DONATION HELP MULTIPLE PEOPLE?

  One pint of blood can help multiple people since the different components of blood provide various uses for patients.^1,5

• WHAT IS PLASMA?

  Plasma is the clear, straw-colored liquid portion of blood that remains after red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and other cellular components are removed. It is the single largest component of human blood, comprising about 55 percent, and contains water, salts, enzymes, antibodies and other proteins.⁷

• KEY USES⁹

• WHOLE BLOOD

  Trauma and surgery

• RED CELLS

  Trauma, surgery, anemia, any blood loss and blood disorders(e.g., sickle cell)

• PLATELETS

  Cancer treatments, organ transplants, and surgery

• PLASMA

  Burn patients, shock, and bleeding disorders

• CRYOPRECIPITATED
  ANTIHEMOPHILIC
  FACTOR(CRYO)

  Hemophilia and a common inherited clotting disorder (Von Willebrand disease)