WHY GIVE BLOOD?

Thank you for your interest in giving blood. You may be wondering, "With all of the blood drives and donations that happen at various blood donor locations and organizations across the country, why is it so important for me to give blood?"

Did you know…

By the age of 72, at least 97% of the population will have required a blood transfusion, but only 6% of eligible donors actually give blood.

Every 17 seconds, someone in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion.

Balancing Supply With Demand

The fact is, all of those appeals for blood are so urgent because supplies are almost always at a level that's too close for comfort. Especially when natural or man-made disasters occur, our supplies can drop dramatically - without warning. We never want to be in a position where an accident victim or surgical patient is in jeopardy because our inventory of various blood types is dangerously low.

That's why your donation makes a huge difference.

Where Your Donation Goes

Most often, blood donations go to accident victims, cancer patients, mothers of premature infants, open heart surgery patients, and those receiving heart, liver, kidney, or bone marrow transplants.

Typically, such patients require the following amounts of blood:

Knee & Hip Surgery:
2-3 pints of blood (approximately 9,000 pints last year)
Artery Bypass Surgery:
3-5 units of blood (approximately 12,000 pints last year)
Accident Victims:
4-100 units of red blood cells
Cancer Treatments:
2-6 units of red blood cells; 6-8 units of platelets daily for 2-4 weeks
Premature Birth:
1-4 units of red blood cells while in intensive care
Open Heart Surgery:
2-6 units of red blood cells
Heart Transplant:
4-6 units of red blood cells; 1-10 units of platelets; 2-4 units of plasma
Liver Transplant:
10 units of red blood cells; 10 units of platelets; 20 units of plasma
Kidney Transplant:
2 units of red blood cells
Bone Marrow Transplant:
1-2 units of red blood cells given every other day for 4 weeks; 6-8 units of platelets daily for 4-6 weeks

Blood is Priceless - And Expensive

If MedStar had to purchase blood from outside sources, it could cost almost $300 per unit, depending on blood component need. Each year, we spend more than $16 million on blood. The more times you donate, the more you reduce MedStar's expenses, which in turn improves our system's ability to provide state-of-the-art equipment and resources for quality patient care as well as maintain wages and other incentive programs for employees. But the most important benefits of your donations are the lives you save.

Blood Screening Ensures a Safe (But Smaller) Supply

Blood screening guidelines are stringent to ensure the safety of those receiving the donated blood. With each donation, sample tubes are filled with blood and are sent to labs for testing. Technologists perform 11 different tests on the samples. Every unit of blood is screened for infectious diseases such as HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B and C, as well as for antibodies that may cause a reaction. Once the test results are processed, if all results are negative, the blood is ready for use to save three lives. Any blood found unfit for transfusion is destroyed.

Blood Has a "Freshness" Date

Donated blood has numerous component parts that are vital to patients, but each component has a specific shelf life.

Red blood cells may be stored under refrigeration for a maximum of 42 days, or they may be frozen for up to 10 years. Red cells carry oxygen and are used to treat anemia.

Blood platelets are important in the control of bleeding and are generally used in patients with leukemia and other forms of cancer. Platelets are stored at room temperature and may be kept for a maximum of only five days.

Fresh frozen blood plasma, used to control bleeding due to low levels of some clotting factors, is kept in a frozen state for usually up to one year.

Cryoprecipitated AHF, which contains only a few specific clotting factors, is made from fresh frozen plasma and may be stored frozen for up to one year.

Granulocytes are sometimes used to fight infections, and they must be transfused within 24 hours of donation.

When Supplies Drop Most

Blood supplies typically run low during the summer months and during the winter holidays. But local and national disasters - and we have had many worldwide calamities during the past few years - can also drain resources, making it important that we always maintain a safety net of blood inventories throughout the year.

Approximately 22,000 patients received blood transfusions from MedStar employee donations last year!

When you give blood, just imagine who you might be saving. It could be a complete stranger or maybe a co-worker, family member, friend - or even yourself!

TWO WAYS TO DONATE! 1. Make a pledge, and we'll schedule an appointment. 2. Call the Blood Donor Hotline at 1.866.49.DONOR (1.866.493.6667). Reveal the Superhero in You. Give Blood. Save Three Lives.

© 2010, MedStar Health. All Rights Reserved
Site by Waldinger Creative