Last night was GFC's third blood drive honoring Bailey, this time at the Crowne Plaza in Timonium. Another great turnout, with food donated by Giant (tons of cookies & pastries), Chik-Fil-A (sweet tea, mmm!), and Domino's (pizza!)! Thank you to the businesses who donated and kept the mouths fed and thirsts quenched after blood donations! And especially, thank you to the donors who came out to give. Thankfully, things were running more like a well-oiled machine and people were able to get in and out in about an hour. Some people were asking about which blood types and needed most and who can get what, so I did a little research and here's what I found:
What blood type is needed most?
All blood types are needed. Common blood types are needed because there are many patients with them. Less common blood types are needed because there are fewer donors to give them. However, people with O- blood are particularly in demand because they are the "universal donor." It means that people of all blood types can receive O- blood safely, so it is used during life-threatening emergencies or when the matching blood type is in short supply. AB types are universal recipients. This relationship is reversed for plasma products. AB type plasma can be transfused to all patients, while O- types are the universal plasma recipients. Therefore, all types are really needed!
| Blood Type | Distribution of Blood Type in | Percent of | Percent of |
| O + | 38% | 45% | 84% |
| O - | 7% | 7% | 100% |
| A + | 34% | 85% | 37% |
| A - | 6% | 13% | 44% |
| B + | 9% | 56% | 12% |
| B - | 2% | 9% | 15% |
| AB + | 3% | 100% | 3% |
| AB - | 1% | 16% | 4% |
*Distribution may be different for specific racial and ethnic groups.
PS: 90 People Came to the blood drive, and overall, 77 bags of blood were collected. That has the potential to save up to 231 lives! Give blood, give life!
No comments:
Post a Comment