Why is donating blood important to be a part of? Will you donate blood in your lifetime?

 The cells that carry oxygen from the lungs to all the parts of your body.  Contain hemoglobin, an iron-containing substance to which oxygen binds.  The reaction between oxygen and the iron in hemoglobin gives blood its bright red color.  Once oxygen has diffused to tissues, blood becomes a dull red.

 Help protect you against diseases and foreign substances.  Larger than red blood cells, but far less numerous.  Some white blood cells make chemicals that help your body resist diseases such as cancer.  Others destroy invading microorganisms by surrounding and consuming them.

 Cell fragments that play an important role in the blood clotting process.  When you get a cut, platelets stick to the edges of the cut and release proteins called clotting factors.  Clotting factors and other plasma proteins form a net of fibers across the cut.  The fibers trap more platelets and blood cells until a plug forms to seal the cut.

 A person’s blood type is determined by the proteins present on the surface of the red blood cells.  A person’s blood type can be type A, B, AB, or O.

 A second blood type is determined by the presence or absence of the Rh factor protein.  If your red blood cells have the Rh factor, your blood is said to be Rh positive.  If your red blood cells lack the Rh factor, your blood is Rh negative.  About 85% of people are Rh positive.

 After an injury, surgery, or some illness, a person may require a blood transfusion.  During a transfusion, blood from a donor is transferred to the patients bloodstream.  Donated blood is tested for blood type and microorganisms, such as those that cause hepatitis or AIDS.  If a patient is given the wrong blood type during a transfusion, the blood will clump together.

 A  A and O  B  B and O  AB  A, B, AB, and O  O  O