BLOOD a few facts
- There are four types of transfusable products that can be derived from blood: red cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitate.
- Typically, two or three of these are produced from a pint of donated whole blood – hence each donation can help save up to three lives.
- Donors can give either whole blood or specific blood components only. The process of donating specific blood components – red cells, plasma or platelets – is called apheresis.
- One transfusion dose of platelets can be obtained through one apheresis donation of platelets or by combining the platelets derived from five whole blood donations.
- Most donated red blood cells must be used within 42 days of collection.
- Donated platelets must be used within five days of collection – new donations are constantly needed.
- Plasma and cryoprecipitate are stored in frozen state and can be used for up to one year after collection.
- Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma and platelets. The body will replenish the elements given during a blood donation – some in a matter of hours and others in a matter of weeks.
Learn about blood:
http://www.redcrossblood.org/learn-about-blood
#infographic via Compoundchem
#blood #medicine #redcross
It is good to know what they do with the blood .... I am a donor :)
ReplyDeleteDo you think Blood should be viewed as an organ?
ReplyDeleteI found this thread interesting http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/564993.html
_Blood's multiple functions make it also difficult to define as
something MORE than an organ: an organ system. Generally speaking, an
organ system is something that is defined as such because we perceive
it to have an overall functional similarity between its parts. There
are problems with this, of course. The nervous system and the
endocrine system both have multiple functions, and in fact they
overlap on almost all of their functions. Their structures are
likewise similar, and most (if not all) neurotransmitters are also
hormones (and vice versa). It might make sense to define these as one
organ system: the neuroendocrine system, as some have suggested. But
current consensus is that they are more manageable when considered as
separate systems._
_Blood's functions overlap many organ systems. Blood has immune
functions, for example (T cells, B cells, globulins, and so on). It
has endocrine functions (in that it carries hormones from point A to
point B). It has functions that are unique to it, as in the transport
of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other nutrients and waste products._
_It is probably best (as in most convenient) to consider blood an
organ, rather than a tissue (it is too complicated) or an organ system
(its functions are too diverse). This categorization is the most
common one amongst medical scientists. Blood transfusions are,
incidentally, considered organ transplants, and the same considerations
are necessary when transplanting blood as other organs. Skin is
heavier than blood, and thus, regardless of what blood is, skin is the
largest organ._
I've always wanted to know, just how painful Bone Marrow donation can be.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but how to create true artificial blood, with all of its properties induced by the digestion system, immune system, etc., so we could live on no matter what issues happen with the rest of the body except head?
ReplyDelete