How Much Do You Know About Giving the Gift of Life?
There is a dire need for blood donations in the U.S. as an average of 4.5 million Americans need a blood transfusion every year. The medical community relies on donations as 29,000 pints of donated blood are used every day across the nation. These pints, or units, of blood are used for women during childbirth, cancer treatments, surgery, treatment of traumatic injuries, chronic illnesses, and more. Take our quiz on blood and plasma donation to find out why donating is so important.
1. In the U.S., how often does someone need blood?
A. Every two seconds
B. Every two minutes
C. Every two hours
D. Every two days
2. Which of the following are criteria you must meet to donate blood?
A. Be healthy
B. Be at least 17 years old
C. Weigh at least 110 pounds
D. All of the above
3. True or false? You cannot get AIDS or any other infectious disease by donating blood.
4. The average adult human body contains approximately 10 pints of blood. How much blood is donated in a typical blood donation?
A. About 1 pint of blood
B. About 2 pints of blood
C. About 3 pints of blood
D. None of the above
5. The entire process of donating blood takes approximately one hour total while the actual blood donation takes 10 minutes. How often can you make a blood donation?
A. Every two weeks
B. Once a month
C. Every 56 days
D. Every four months
6. True or false? After donating blood, your fluids are replaced within hours, your red blood cells are replaced within four weeks, and your iron is restored eight weeks after donating.
7. Fill in the blank: If only __ percent more of all Americans would give blood, blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future.
A. 15 percent
B. 10 percent
C. 5 percent
D. 1 percent
8. True or false? Only about 3% of age-eligible people donate blood annually, for an approximate total of 6.8 million people donating blood every year.
9. How long can most donated red blood cells be stored before they expire and can no longer be used?
A. 31 days
B. 42 days
C. 53 days
D. 64 days
10. One unit of blood can be separated into which of the following components, which can also be given to people for a number of medical reasons.
A. Red blood cells
B. Plasma
C. Platelets.
D. Cryoprecipitate, a liquid part of blood
E. All of the above
11. True or false? One pint of blood can save up to three lives.
12. True or false? Blood or plasma that comes from people who have been paid for it cannot be used for human transfusions.
compiled by ERIKA ALDRICH/ Resources: The American Red Cross & Givingblood.org
ANSWERS:
A. Every two seconds. In the U.S., someone needs blood every two seconds.
D. All of the above. In the U.S., you only need to be healthy, at least 17 years old, and weigh at least 110 pounds to donate blood.
True. It is not possible to get AIDS or any other infectious disease by donating blood.
A. About 1 pint of blood. The average blood donation is about 1 pint of blood.
C. Every 56 days. The minimum amount of time between blood donations is 56 days.
True. It takes varying amounts of time for the components of a blood donation to replenish in the body, but everything is replenished within eight weeks.
D. 1 percent. If 1% more of the American population would donate blood, then blood shortages would no longer occur.
True. Only about 6.8 million, or 3 percent, of the US population donates blood every year.
B. 42 days. Blood can only be stored for 42 days; after that it cannot be used.
E. All of the above. Donated blood can be separated into red blood cells, plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate, which all have their distinct medical uses.
True. One blood donation has the potential to save up to three lives.
True. Only donated blood and plasma can be used for human blood transfusions.