Author: John R. Alexander

For the third consecutive year, ADLER GIERSCH, PS has teamed up with Puget Sound Blood Center to organize and sponsor its annual blood drive. On Thursday, June 5, 2003 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. two Puget Sound Blood Center bloodmobiles will be at the ADLER GIERSCH, PS Seattle office accepting blood donations.

Blood donation is in short supplies and critical at this time of year. We decided to put some fun into blood. ADLER GIERSCH, PS is providing delicious lunch foods, beverages and gifts to all blood donors! Call Kristin Cruse at (206) 682-0300 to reserve a time for blood donation on June 5, 2003.

Below are some “Fun Blood Facts”:

What month is declared National Blood Donor Month by the President of the United States? January

Which former U.S. President is a multi-gallon donor? Jimmy Carter

How many units of blood did President Ronald Reagan require after the assassination attempt? 12 total: 8 of red blood cells, 3 units of fresh frozen plasma and 1 unit of apheresis platelets.

What country rewards its blood donors by giving a monetary contribution to a favorite charity in the donor’s name? Denmark, which is also the home country of the original Boy Scout organization.

Who performed the first “modern” transfusion? English Obstetrician James Blundell in 1818.

How many red blood cells can be manufactured each second in the human body’s amazing production line? 17,000,000 red blood cells per second, and seven times that amount when stress precipitates a need!

Some "Serious Blood Facts”:

There is no substitute for human blood.

One out of every 10 people entering a hospital need blood.

Shortages of all types of blood often occur during the summer seasons.

Volunteers provide nearly all of the nation’s blood supply for transfusions.

About 32,000 pints of blood are used each day in the United States.

Each day over 800 donors are needed to meet the transfusion needs in Western Washington.

You can not get AIDS from donating blood. Only sterile disposable equipment is used, making disease transmission virtually impossible.

Women are transfused with slightly more than half, 57%, of the blood used in the United States. Males receive 43%. More than 23 million blood components are made from about 14 million whole blood donations every year.

Blood can be separated into different components (red cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitate) and used to help different types of patients.

• Platelets must be used within five days.
• Plasma can be frozen and used up to one year.
• Red blood cells must be used within 42 days.

There are about one BILLION red blood cells in two or three drops of blood.

Platelets are small blood cells that help control bleeding.

White blood cells are the body’s primary defense against infection.

If you begin donating blood at age 16 and donate every 56 days until you are 80, you will have donated over 50 gallons of blood.

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge (answers at bottom of page)

1. How many blood types do cows have?
2. Throughout how many miles of blood vessels do blood cells travel?
3. How many pints of blood does an adult of average weight have?
4. How often does someone need blood?
5. What is the probability that an individual will use blood?

What is your blood type’s percentage of the total population?
O+ = 36%; A+ = 34%; B+ = 8%; AB+ = 2.5%; O- = 9%; A- = 8%; B- = 2%; AB- = .5%

In an emergency, blood type O- can be given to anyone because it is most likely to be accepted by all blood types. With which blood types are you compatible?.

Type A+ can donate to A+, AB+ Type AB+ can donate to AB+
Type A- can donate to A-, A+, AB+, AB- Type AB- can donate to AB-, AB+
Type O+ can donate to O+, A+, B+, AB+ Type B+ can donate to B+, AB+
Type O- can donate to all types. O- is the Type B- can donate to B-, B+, AB-, AB+
Universal Donor!

Come and donate blood and you will learn your blood type!

1) 800 and possibly more 2) 70,000miles of vessels every 20seconds 3)10-12 pints 4)Every 3 seconds 5) If you live until 75, you will have a 95% chance you will need blood or blood components.