Q: What is blood? How much blood does a person have?
A: Blood is the red coloured fluid flowing continuously in our body's circulatory system. About 1/12th of the body weight of a healthy individual is blood. On an average there are about 5 - 6 litres of blood present. ........................................................................................................................................................................ Q: How much blood do you take?
A:In India 350 ml blood is collected from a blood donor weighing not less than 45 kilograms. Donors weighing more than 55 kilogramsmay donate upto 450 ml of blood. ........................................................................................................................................................................ Q: How can one blood donation save four lives ?
A:The blood you donate is split into four components Red Blood Cells, Platelets, Plasma and Cryoprecipitate ........................................................................................................................................................................ Q: What are the components of blood and mention thier functions?
A: Blood have three components named Plasma, RBC, WBC and Platelets.
(a) Plasma: acts as a vehicle to carry many substances like glucose, fats, and proteins, enzymes, and hormones etc., in addition to the blood cells.
(b) Red Cells: carry oxygen from lungs to various body tissues and take back carbon dioxide from the cells and tissues to be thrown out of body in the form of exhaled air.
(c) White cells: mainly act as body scavengers and guards. They help in the immune system of the body and act as defence forces of the body killing the bacteria or any other organisms entering the body.
(d) Platelets: help in the clotting and coagulation of blood. We have experienced in our life that whenever we get injured the bleeding stops after a few minutes. This is brought about by a mechanism called clotting of blood in which platelets plays a very vital role. ........................................................................................................................................................................ Q: What are blood groups?
A: Every individual has two types of blood groups. The first is called the ABO - grouping and the second type is called Rh - grouping. In the ABO - group there are four categories namely A Group, B Group, O Group and AB Group. In the Rh - Group either the individual is Rh-positive, or Rh-negative. Rh is a factor called as Rhesus factor that has come to us from Rhesus monkeys. Thus each and very human being will fall in one of the following groups. A positive or A negative B positive or B negative O positive or O negative AB positive or AB negative There are also some sub groups as well as a few other classifications. ........................................................................................................................................................................ Q: How Blood is stored?
A:Blood is stored in a special refrigerator where temperature is constantly kept between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius Are the blood components available any time of the day ? Blood components are issued 24 hours a day subject to availability of compatible units. ........................................................................................................................................................................ Q: Why do you give coffee after blood donation ? Why not juice or tea ?
A:The main purpose of giving refreshments is to keep the blood donor under observation for about 10 minutes after blood donation. Adverse donor reactions can be taken care of if the donor is under observation. With hot coffee and biscuits donors stay for 10 minutes. ........................................................................................................................................................................ Q: Why is A group not given B group blood?
A: This is due to the reason that, the blood of A Group people contains anti - B antibod ies. In B group people there are anti - An antibodies. If we give A group blood to a B group patient, it is bound to be incompatible and will result in serious consequences ........................................................................................................................................................................ Q: Are there any other benefits of blood donation?
A: Yes, blood donation is a noble, selfless service! It gives the donor a feeling of joy and contentment. Also this is an expression of love for Mankind, as blood knows no caste, colour, creed, religion or race, country, continent or sex. ........................................................................................................................................................................ Q: The scale shows 450 gms but you say only 350 ml blood is collected. Why?
A:The bag in which blood is collected contains a solution which prevents blood from clotting. The total weight of the bag, before blood collection, is about 80 Gms. Besides, blood being heavier than water, the weight of 350 ml blood is about 370 Gms. The total weight of the bag, after blood collection is, thus, 450 Gms. ........................................................................................................................................................................
