Donate Blood
More than 95 percent of Americans will have a relative or friend who will need blood.
More than 75 percent of Americans reaching age 72 will require a blood transfusion
sometime in
their lifetimes.
Every two or three seconds, someone needs blood. People donate a unit of blood, about a pint.
Needs include: in a car accident up to 50 units of blood;
bone marrow transplant 20 units of blood, 120 units of plasma;
organ transplant 40 units of blood, 30 units of platelets, 25 units of plasma;
burns 6 units of platelets;
heart surgery 6 units of blood.
It is not unusual for young leukemia patients to need eight units of blood a week.
Recent news from the Red Cross: " A, B, and O are the main blood groups, and if we don’t get more people to donate blood and platelets, hospital shelves may be empty when a critical patient arrives.
Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. But for the past four years, new Red Cross donors declined by about 80,000 each year."
Blood donation FAQs has answers to questions such as:
Why do some people faint when they give blood?
What can I do to prevent fainting after giving blood?
How long does it take to donate? How can I make an appiontment to donate?
What are the rules about who can donate?
Can athletes donate blood?
Can scuba divers donate blood?
What precautions should I take after donating blood?
De Anza College usually has blood drives fall, winter and spring quarters.
For info go to: http://www.deanza.edu/healthservices/blooddrive.html