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Fast Facts About Blood Donation

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 27, 2008

••Donors must be at least 16 years old, weigh 110 pounds or more and be in generally good health
••37 percent of Americans 16 and older are eligible to give; less than 10 percent do

••12 percent of donors are high school students
••Top reasons people are disqualified as donors: getting a tattoo or body piercing, having major surgery within the past year; service abroad in countries such as Iraq; pregnancy; history of hepatitis; participation in activities placing the recipient at risk for HIV or the AIDS virus.

••5 million people in the United States receive blood each year

••43,000 pints are used daily in the United States and Canada

••There are four blood cell types: A, B, AB and O. Each exists in positive and negative form. People with type O are universal donors; those with type AB are universal recipients.

Sources: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Florida Blood Services, American Blood Centers, National Institutes of Health

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